K2 Keitaro Urashima: A View to a Truth
by Demon Eyes Laharl
Summary: Fourth of the K2 installment. Keitaro is given a mission to rescue a demon representative, but unknowingly, has a powerful enemy coming at him. Due to circumstances, he accidentally stumbles on a truth about the Universe... a truth he may never accept.
1. Chapter 1

_The Japanese Supernatural forces are in a scramble. The Golden Maiden, whose existence was revealed by Demon Eyes Laharl with the help of Keitaro 'K2' Urashima has been amassing an army of militia, disrupting the balance and risking revealing the supernatural world. They have continued kidnapping not only demons, but other 'dark' supernatural creatures and killing them._

_The last kidnapped demon is a diplomatic representative of one of the most powerful faction of Hell, and is being tortured to death. The supernatural factions, the Urashima's, Otohime's, Aoyama's, Heaven and Hell are now meeting to rescue the demon representative, and discuss how to counteract the threat of the Golden Maiden…_

* * *

**Keitaro 'K2' Urashima **

**In**

**A View to a Truth**

* * *

* * *

**01 -**_ Woman with Blue Hair_

* * *

_Okinawa_

_O-Faction's HQ_

A woman looked towards a large screen in front of her.

"How long will the connection take?" she asked towards the collection of technicians behind her.

"The setting has been accessed. We are now putting firewalls and defensive programs to cover our side," one of the technicians replied. "We expect everything to be up and running by 5 minutes."

"Good."

* * *

_U-Agency HQ_

Hinata looked towards Haruka, who was speaking towards Su in her phone.

"KU, how long will the preparations be done?" Haruka asked.

"Give me four minutes… I just finished coding our settings and putting some extra precautions. I'm even measuring if we're leaking anything out to be sure." 

"There is no hurry, Haruka," Hinata stated, looking towards the large screen in front of her. "The meeting won't be for another 6 or so minutes."

"Even so… we and the Otohime's are hosting the meeting. We have to make sure everything goes well," Haruka looked towards the screen.

"There is no need to worry… the Otohime's got their best working with KU on this," she closed her eyes. "Everything will be as planned."

After a few minutes, the screen sparked to life.

"Pocket Cyberspace is online, safe and operational. I'll be keeping a lookout here just in case we get some hackers trying to be smart." 

Haruka nodded. "Copy that, KU," she stated towards her phone. "Over and out."

In the screen, something popped out. It was a large vertical rectangle with the letter O on it. Hinata smiled and greeted the square.

"Greetings, O," she said.

* * *

_Cyberspace Pocket Channel_

"Greetings, O," a rectangular form with the letter U on it glowed as Hinata's voice spoke.

"Hello, G," the rectangular form 'O' greeted back.

"It seems the pocket was well done," Hinata stated.

"Seems to be," 'O' replied. "Thank you for your cooperation on this."

"What are you thanking me for?" Hinata asked. "We're both hosting this meeting."

After a few moments, another rectangle came to view, this time with the letter 'A' on it.

"Good afternoon, Urashima-san, Otohime-san," 'A' greeted.

"Good afternoon, Aoyama-san," both Hinata and 'O' greeted the rectangle.

"Am I late?" 'A' asked.

"Truthfully, you're quite early," Hinata replied. "We're just waiting for our two esteemed celestial beings before the meeting can begin."

Two more rectangles arrived, each one with the names 'HILD' and 'KAMI-SAMA' on them.

"With that, I guess we can begin," Hinata stated. "As one of the hosts of this meeting, I bid all of you a warm welcome."

'O' glowed. "I as well…"

"Forgive me if I skip on the pleasantries, but this is a matter of urgency," Hild's voice stated in a clear, even voice. "My department in Hell has been busy with the paperwork being done with all of our agents being killed. As DL had discovered, this Golden Maiden character is responsible for all of the killings. It started discreetly over the past 2 years, but now it's being blown out of proportion. Everyday, we receive new reports of more and more demon agents missing, or being killed, and now, one of our diplomats, who represent one of my partners in Hell, is missing."

"We know this, Hild," Kami-sama replied in his own even tone. "But we've been pooling our resources in finding this Golden Maiden, and so far, nothing has come up."

"That is because you are looking at the wrong places," Hild stated. "I have already given you my thoughts on this. Someone in your side is providing supplies and aid, without your consent of course, to this Golden Maiden. Even DL agrees with me on this."

"There is no proof that she is involved!" Kami-sama's voice rang angrily through the pocket. "I demand you not bring that up. You and you're DL's theories are nothing more than that! Without any real proof, you are framing one of…"

"May we get back to the task at hand?" Hinata's voice rang clearly. "I apologize for cutting you, Kami-sama, but we cannot afford to bicker among ourselves. We are wasting precious time as we speak."

"You have a point, G of the Urashima faction," Kami-sama replied. "Let us address our problems then."

"Our number one priority should be rescuing Hell's representative," Hild stated. "The Devil he represents isn't really much open to our 'peace' with the gods and humans."

"A warmonger?" 'A' asked.

"You can say that," Hild replied. "If his representative dies, he can use that as a reason to cause chaos as a means to 'hunt' down that is responsible. Human lives are to be taken account. Even the Rebalancers are taking a hard stance on the Golden Maiden."

"What have they got to say about the Golden Maiden?" Hinata asked.

"The Rebalancers sent their own message to this council. It was short and to the point. 'We're getting very annoyed by this so-called Golden Maiden. If you don't take her out, we will. And god help wherever we fight, because we're not going to minimize collateral damage'," Hild stated.

"Heaven received the same message," Kami-sama stated.

"Words done by fools," Hinata stated calmly. "Rebalancers are nothing more than another power… annoying at best. We cannot expect any help from them."

"Hmmm… is there any information to which we can find this demon representative?" 'A' asked.

"Of course," 'O' replied. "We have been following this Golden Maiden's movements since both Hell and Urashima had found out about her existence. Our spies and informants have located the demon representative in one abandoned facility in the Kagawa Prefecture…"

A screen popped up, showing an abandoned-looking building near the sea. Then, more pictures popped up, showing the architectural frame of the building, its surroundings, and finally, a wire frame model of the interior.

"The Golden Maiden?" Hild asked.

"No sign," 'O' stated. "She's not involved in this."

"I guess there we have it," Kami-sama stated. "Give me a few minutes, I can have a few angels and valkyries storm in the building and rescue your representative."

"I disagree with that plan," Hild replied. "The Golden Maiden escaped my custody using a teleporter. Showing up with an army at the enemy's doorstep might risk our hostage takers to teleport away with the representative. We need something discreet and small… a strike force that won't garner attention."

"Discreet isn't really one of our strong points," 'A' stated. "We're samurais. If you want ninjas, you go to the Urashima's."

"We'd be more than glad to take this job," Hinata replied. "We'll have one of our best agents take care of it."

"And to show how much we appreciate how difficult this Golden Maiden is on us, we'll also send a goddess to aid the U-Agent G will be sending," Kami-sama stated.

"I don't think that would be such a good idea," Hinata said.

"Do not worry," Kami-sama replied. "I assure you the one I shall send is competent and will follow your agent's lead."

"Then I have no disagreements with that," Hinata receded.

"Now for another topic," Kami-sama began. "Hild, G, have you any luck contacting Demon Eyes Laharl? I am afraid I need his… 'expertise' rather sooner than expected."

"That goddess who had her angel killed by the U-Agent is still unstable?" Hild asked.

"Unfortunately. There are no suitable candidates for her angel's replacement," Kami-sama replied. "I need him to perform another temporary mental healing to give her more time to find a suitable partner."

"I honestly don't know why we need that… being… helping you, Kami-sama," 'A' growled. "Surely, with your powers, you can fix your problem without that Laharl demon, right?"

"Unfortunately, Aoyama-san, I am too busy with other affairs to help in this case," Kami-sama stated. "I do know it's a bit questionable using a hybrid demon to help a goddess, but he has the ability to do so."

"He deserves to be destroyed," 'A' stated.

"By the gods, Aoyama-san, it's been 20 years already," 'O' began. "Surely your clan may have forgiven Laharl and all his transgressions from the past?"

"Don't bother asking the Aoyamas that," Hinata replied evenly. "They aren't the type to forgive or forget, especially when it concerns about family pride." She paused for a moment, looking if the breach of topic was over before continuing. "And to answer your question, Kami-sama, yes, I have contacted Laharl-san on this. He has agreed to help the goddess again."

"Oh, really? I give you my thanks then," Kami-sama said in a neutral tone.

"No need," Hinata replied. "It was our agent's bumble after all that mentally scarred your goddess. It would only be proper to be of any help to her."

"Tell him then that I shall send you the coordinates of the meeting session," Kami-sama said. "With that, I assume we adjourn the meeting."

"I agree," Hild stated. "G, I am counting on the U-Agency to move in at once. How long can we expect your agent to make it to the target location?"

"If we brief him now, I expect he can make the trip tomorrow, early hours at best, and rescue your representative within the very same day," Hinata replied.

"My goddess that will help your agent will be there to meet him. I shall inform her of our plans," Kami-sama stated. "And I will give you details of her briefing so you can arrange it with your agent."

"Very well…" Hinata said with finality. "By your leave."

One by one, the rectangles slowly faded from view. It started with both HILD and KAMI-SAMA, followed by 'A', then 'O' and finally, 'U'.

* * *

_U-Agency_

Hinata looked towards Haruka with a nod. Walking towards the door, the two women exited the dark room. After bathing in the light for a few moments, the older woman looked at the younger woman with smiling eyes.

"Haruka… where is Keitaro?" she asked.

Haruka closed her eyes and smiled for a moment. "Probably in a hotel near Hinata-sou. Su has taken the point to watch his movements when she has really nothing to do, and informs me of his whereabouts from time to time."

"Su had told you earlier he was in the hotel," Hinata nodded.

"And she hasn't called me on an update yet," Haruka finished. "Do you want me to call her and ask where Keitaro might be?"

"Please do," Hinata replied. "I need to brief him by tonight if possible, and get him ready for a mission."

"Don't worry," Haruka said as she grabbed her phone. "He's K2… And he hasn't brought us down, notwithstanding his first mission."

* * *

_Somewhere…_

Keitaro watched from the sky as a big moving truck was slammed on its side by a winged demon, and his younger version of him screaming. After a flash of light, he saw another scene, where his young self embraced the dead body of his beloved pact friend.

For some reason, he couldn't feel much emotion from the scene. It was probably one of his strongest memories… the day she died was the day his life changed forever… yet, he couldn't feel any emotion.

He floated in the sky without care… he couldn't even feel the wind.

He closed his eyes.

"_**Keitaro…"**_

He opened his eyes.

"_**Keitaro…"**_

He looked towards his side, and spotted a woman with flowing blue hair. Her eyes were hidden in her bangs, and she wore a rather beautiful black battle-dress. She had a smile on her face.

"Who are you?" Keitaro asked.

"_**Keitaro…"**_

"Who are you…?"

"**_Don't you know?" _**

"I… I don't know…" Keitaro replied. "I… I don't know you."

His reply echoed in the air, and the woman smiled at him sadly as she faded from view. Keitaro briefly wondered for a moment when this dream was going to end.

* * *

Keitaro opened his eyes when he felt someone snuggle close to him. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around Kitsune who was sleeping beside him and softly kissed her neck before relaxing back to his place. 

He had been having the same dream in random days for the past two weeks, right after rescuing Laharl from the Golden Maiden. He briefly wondered if his mind was trying to tell him something, but so far, he had been drawing blanks and it was making him rather mellow.

Kitsune shifted her body and snuggled closer to him. He looked at her with a slight smile on his face before his cell phone began to ring. Shaking Kitsune gently off his arm, he slid down the bed, still naked, and went towards his pants on top of a chair. He grabbed the phone in its pocket.

"Hello?" Keitaro greeted. "Oh… KU, what's up?"

Kitsune groaned, complaining for being woken up from her slumber. Stretching for a moment, she looked towards Keitaro who was ignoring her for now. She studied him as he silently nodded to himself a few times.

"Tonight?" Keitaro asked towards his phone. "I'll be there then… yes… take care, bye."

Shutting the connection, Keitaro put the phone back to his pocket, and walked towards the bed. Sliding in the blankets, he gave another kiss to Kitsune's cheeks as he found himself mesmerized a bit by her half open eyes, messy hair, and that small pout in her lips. She was adorable, in his opinion.

"Hmmm, we may have to stop doing this, luv," Keitaro teased. "I'm not very good for your health."

"Oh hush," Kitsune mumbled sleepily, wiping her eyes with her hands for a moment. "How long were we sleeping?"

"Probably 2 hours or so," Keitaro replied. "We did have a rather busy morning. We even skipped lunch."

"Hmph, we did have lunch… well, I did," Kitsune's smirk found itself on her face again. "And I'm hungry for another bite."

Keitaro chuckled as Kitsune's hands went towards his thighs, and swiftly grabbed them with his own. He looked right towards her eyes.

"Kitsune… do you want to have an early dinner?" he asked.

"What do you mean, Kei-chan?" Kitsune wondered.

"Haruka just called," Keitaro lied. "I… I may have to leave tonight."

"What!?" Kitsune's eyes opened. "Where?"

"Somewhere," Keitaro smiled a bit at Kitsune's expression. "Family business."

"How long?" she asked.

"Truthfully, I don't know," Keitaro replied honestly. "But if everything goes well… I'll probably be gone for just one day."

"Ah…" Kitsune nodded. "So, you want to dine with me before you leave eh? Aren't you being sweet?"

Her hands softly roamed around Keitaro's neck, and she kissed him softly in his lips. Keitaro kissed back gently, rubbing one of his hands at her back. Stealing a glance at his watch, he then licked her neck. Kitsune moaned.

"Well, there's a good hour and a half before five," Keitaro said as he softly pinned Kitsune down the bed. "We can have a nice productive 'time-spending', or are you too tired to, luv?"

Kitsune smiled, and with a growl, she turned the tables around the young man, and straddled on top of him. She kissed him wildly then bit gently on his lower lips, and slowly removed the blankets covering them.

"I get to be on top this time," Kitsune declared.

"Sounds a bit plain, so let's do a compromise," Keitaro slowly sat up, and kissed Kitsune on her chest. "There we go… you get what you want… I get what I want. Sounds agreeable, doesn't it?"

"Sounds absolutely…" she purred gently on his left ear, "… perfect."

* * *

_Hinata-sou, KU's Lab_

_2 hours later…_

"Ah, sempai, good evening," Shinobu greeted as she saw Keitaro enter through the elevator.

"Good evening, Shinobu-chan," Keitaro greeted with a smile. "Sorry for missing dinner."

"Its okay, sempai," she replied with her own sweet smile. "It's a good thing you called before I started preparing. Kitsune called, and missed dinner as well. She must really be busy with her work."

"Really? Odd," Keitaro pretended to look intrigued. "Kitsune doesn't strike me as a woman who likes working hard…"

"Oh really, K2s?" Su's voice suddenly cut in the conversation. "I thought you'd have a higher opinion of her, after all the time you spent here."

The two watched the incoming Indian girl in her white lab coat, smiling at Keitaro. The man rolled his eyes at her, and then smiled as well.

"Hey, KU," Keitaro greeted the young teen. "You know what I mean. Kitsune isn't the type to like work too much… she likes pleasure more than business."

"Heehee," Su giggled. "That she does."

Keitaro smiled and then looked towards the other girl. He asked, "By the way, Shinobu-chan, why are you here?"

The girl blushed a moment, not sure how to respond. She mumbled incoherently for a moment before Su dived in for a save.

"She's studying the lab," Su replied. "Getting to know the place so she could lend us her hand, she says."

The shy girl nodded at that. "I want to be a better help," she said.

Keitaro looked at her for a moment. "Shinobu, you know you don't have to," he stated. "Keeping my identity already puts you at some risk. You don't have to trouble yourself further with this."

"I want to do this, sempai," Shinobu said with a strong tone in her voice. "Please… let me help you…"

Keitaro looked towards Su, who just shrugged. "Alright," he nodded. "Anyways, KU… I'm here for the briefing."

"Gotcha," Su replied, and began to lead Keitaro towards the computer room. Before she let him enter though, she looked towards Shinobu who followed them. "Shinomu, sorry… but I can't let you come in with us on this."

"Oh… it's okay," Shinobu replied. "I'll be in the Clinic, then."

Keitaro and Su watched as the shy tenant walked away towards another section of the lab before they entered the computer room. Walking towards the center of the large dark screen, he waited briefly for a moment before it blinked to life, showing Haruka and Hinata's face.

Normally, the one to brief him would be Haruka, unless, of course, Hinata wanted to do it personally. And usually, it takes place at the Tea House, but with Haruka gone for the day, the briefing would be at KU's lab, where part of the Urashima Mainframe Computer (UMC) is located.

"Hello, K2," Hinata greeted.

"Good evening, G, H," Keitaro nodded towards the two.

"Let's get down to business shall we?" Hinata stated. "I assume KU has informed you a part of your mission earlier?"

"She told me that you're sending me away tonight for a hostage search and rescue stealth mission," Keitaro replied truthfully. "Where, who and why, I have no idea."

"Your target is located at an abandoned facility in the Kagawa Prefecture," Hinata stated, and another window popped up from the screen. It showed an enlarged map of the area, and the building.

"Who is my target?" Keitaro asked.

"A demon diplomatic representative," Hinata replied.

Keitaro frowned. His mind once again went towards the details his grandmother had given him, and it sounded awfully familiar. Abandoned facility? Demon hostage?

"Is this 'her' work?" Keitaro asked.

"Yes…" Hinata smiled. Her grandson was very sharp. "It is the work of our infamous Golden Maiden. I guess you finally found your 'why', eh?"

"Is she present with the hostage?" Keitaro asked.

"From what the Otohime's told us, no, she isn't," Hinata replied.

"Disappointing, but probably expected," Keitaro stated. "She'd be stupid if she made herself open like that, and so far she seems to always be one step ahead of us."

"Always, but not forever," Hinata declared. "I shall now fully brief you of your mission."

Keitaro listened as his grandmother explained the situation. About three days ago, a demon representative was due to appear in the Unitary Heaven and Hell Nations (UHHN) to speak in behalf of his boss, an old and very short tempered Devil. When he didn't appear, Hell and Heaven knew something was wrong.

After a day of investigation, the Otohime's, along with Heaven and Hell's search team, found a video showing six armed men in black clothes and masks abducting the unconscious representative, and speeding away in a black van. The van was found later in that day, completely stripped and empty.

The trail went cold.

Otohime's agent, MT, who was in a middle of a case, was temporarily assigned to find the whereabouts of representative. She found a lead after two days by using her connections. She made contact to a female suspect, and after a brilliant deception with some deductive reasoning, which involved her convincing the suspect that she was a double agent sent to help the Golden Maiden, she got the location of the demon repetitive.

"Go, Mu-chan," Keitaro had to comment.

"The mission is fairly simple. At 2100 hours, you are to leave Hinata-sou and reach the U-Rail which will bring you towards Okayama Prefecture, where you'll board a boat which will bring you in the middle of the sea before Kagawa prefecture. You'll then travel under sea, alone, to avoid detection, and enter through an underground tunnel which will bring you directly under the facility," Hinata finished.

The screen showed Keitaro the details of his travel, ending with a glowing dot (representing him) going through an underwater tunnel to infiltrate the building.

"And when I enter, I slowly make my way, guided by KU, I am guessing, and rescue the representative… right?" Keitaro asked.

"Yes," Hinata replied.

"Sounds easy enough," Keitaro stated.

"There is more…" Hinata paused for a moment. "Kami-sama has expressed interest in helping us. He wants to send a goddess…"

"I don't need a celestial slowing me down," Keitaro cut in at once, earning a glare from Haruka, behind Hinata. He ignored her. "With all due respect, G, I can do fine on my own."

"I'm sure you can," Hinata smiled slightly. "But unfortunately, we cannot do anything about it. Don't worry K2, Kami-sama promised the goddess he's sending is competent and battle ready. You'll meet her inside the facility. I'll send you more details on your trip to Okayama. The rescue starts in the early morning, so I suggest you get some sleep on your way there."

"Roger," Keitaro nodded.

* * *

_Hevean; Yggdrasil Department_

A naked goddess smiled as the technician god shivered at her touch.

"B… but…" he moaned as her finger flicked over his inner thigh.

"Please…? Do this for me?" she softly begged. "I have been aching for action for the past month…"

"But… don't you have something to do tomorrow?" the god asked.

"It's okay… I'll tell Kami-sama it was all my idea," the goddess proclaimed. "I… I just want to have some excitement. Please… for me?"

The god swallowed, and nodded. He was given a deep kiss. He quickly typed towards the Yggdrasil console as the goddess slowly moved her tongue towards his lower body.

'Finally…' she thought with a smirk on her face. 'Finally… I shall have my revenge.'

**To Be Continued**


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

**02 **- _The Angel with a Sword_

* * *

Keitaro watched as the woman in the black dress slowly move the bangs away from his eyes. Her eyes were still hidden, but her smile was present as she seemed content in having his head on her lap.

Once again, they floated in the clouds, an everlasting blue sphere. The U-Agent couldn't really think of anything other than her face and presence.

"We really should stop meeting like this…" he murmured.

"Do you dislike me?" she asked. Keitaro shook his head.

"No… I think you're one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen…" he replied. "But… I still don't know who you are."

"You wouldn't," she stated. "It's been a long time since we last seen each other…"

"I would have remembered a beautiful face, luv," Keitaro mumbled. She just smiled at that, and shook her head. He smiled in turn. "What?" he asked.

"You're really a smooth talker, aren't you?"

"Only when I'm being truthful…" Keitaro replied. "You are beautiful, and damn me for not remembering you."

"Well… here's a clue…" she began. "What we're doing here… it was my fondest memory."

Keitaro could only nod blankly at that. He still could not remember doing this to any women he met. Kitsune spends more her time doing him in than spending something as sweet as this. Mutsumi would be a likely candidate, but they haven't spent much time together. Last time they did, it was during Christmas dinner…

"This is also my last memory…" she added.

"I… really don't remember," Keitaro mumbled.

"I know…" she mumbled back as the whole world began to brighten. "I know."

* * *

Keitaro woke up in his seat-bed in a private train going through the tracks in very early morning. He pressed a button on his arm rest, and a small light sparked to life. He blinked a moment, letting his eyes adjust to the brightness. 

"Excuse me, sir K2?" one of the attendants arrived at his side. "Trouble sleeping?"

"No… just odd dreams," Keitaro replied. He looked towards his watch, and saw that it was 5:34 AM. "Approximately, when will we arrive at Tamano, Okayama?"

"In an hour, sir. Shall I get your gear prepared?" the attendants asked.

"No, they its okay," Keitaro mumbled. He didn't want anybody touching his tools before any mission. Except probably KU, and that's only because she's the inventor of most of them.

"Breakfast?"

"Something light if you don't mind," Keitaro replied. The attendant bowed before he took his leave. Keitaro watched outside his window as the evidence of the first rays began to show itself… the day was going to start soon and so will his mission.

Thinking back at his dream, Keitaro briefly wondered about that woman again.

"Who are you?" he asked to no one in particular.

* * *

The private train stopped at the Train Station in Tamano, where a black Mercedes was parked, waiting for him. The attendant who was on the train escorted him towards the car, carrying a duffel bag which he put in the trunk, and handed an envelope to Keitaro as he boarded. The agent looked at it and thanked the man. 

As the Mercedes drove off, Keitaro opened the envelope, and read the last minute details of the mission sent by H.

* * *

_K2:_

_You will be driven to a fishing pier, where you'll meet up with Seta-san. We have contracted him for this particular mission. He'll bring you halfway in the sea, carrying KU's Personal Submarine under his hull. I think you can manage the rest. _

_You will meet the Goddess at the Supply Room… KU will provide you the location as soon as you are clear. Her name is Nitasha, Third Class Warrior Goddess. Your passwords, as always, never specific, though will be concerned with this statement… "Always dark before dawn approaches." _

_Good luck on the mission, and burn this note after reading it. _

_H_

* * *

Keitaro opened the window, rolled the paper in a small cylinder, and borrowed a cigarette lighter from the driver. He set the message on fire, and placed it slightly outside the window, allowing it to burn for a moment until the flame was near his fingers before he let go. The paper turned to ashes and spread through the air. 

After a few moments, the Mercedes stopped in front of a pier, and Keitaro let himself get off. Going towards the trunk, and extracting his duffel bag, he was greeted by a man with unwashed brown hair, and his stubbles showing he hadn't been shaving for a few days… but even with his rather unclean look, Keitaro always felt it fitted Seta.

"Hey, part-timer!" Seta greeted. Keitaro could only shake his head.

"Still calling me that, Seta-san?" he asked.

"Well, every time we meet, it's usually just for part of the time," Seta replied with a grin.

Seta and Keitaro had met in two occasions, and they were before Keitaro had received his K2 codename. The former was an archeologist, but also a contractor, Jack-of-all-trades kind of fellow which took odd jobs for Urashimas and probably the other factions. They first met when Seta had asked his grandmother for a favor, and had exchanged some pleasantries.

The second time was when Keitaro was being trained to fight, and Seta was his sparring partner and sensei. The man knew Jeet Kune Do, the martial arts of the famous and late Bruce Lee, and had taught some of its principles to him. But Keitaro didn't exactly finish their training… that's when Seta started calling him part-timer.

"I've gotten message from Haruka-san," Keitaro stated. "It seems we're going to have another 'part-time' job together, eh?"

"Yup," Seta agreed. "Come on; let's get your day started."

The man proceeded to lead Keitaro towards a rather worn down looking boat. The U-Agent noted that the state of the boat seemed to reflect the state of its owner with a small smile, and boarded.

Seta had removed the rope which connected the boat to the pier, and began to start the engine. After a few revs, there was a hum and shifting of the floor, signaling its start. In minutes, Seta skillfully launches the boat away from the pier, and slowly accelerated as they proceeded to the ocean.

"I still wonder how you can drive these vehicles without much difficulty, yet you can't keep a steady hand or foot for your van," Keitaro shouted his comment a bit, so it would be heard over the revving noise.

"Now, now, part-timer," Seta shouted back. "Shouldn't you keep your head on your mission?"

"I am!" Keitaro declared. "But I've seen you total your van five times already!"

"We've only met twice!" Seta complained.

"Every time there's news on an exploding van, I know it is you!" Keitaro smirked. He watched as the man grumbled a bit before he changed the subject. "Hey… how's that kid you've been taking care of?"

"Sarah? She's an amazing kid," Seta replied. "You should meet her once at least…"

"When I'm not too busy!" Keitaro said.

"Saving the world?" Seta asked.

"Been there, done that," Keitaro grinned.

"Busy with what then?" Seta asked.

"You can say I've been busy sleeping around."

"Part-timer, I didn't know you were that lazy!" Seta replied. Keitaro could only laugh a moment about him missing the innuendo. This was one of the few reasons why Haruka and Seta still haven't gotten together… the man tended to be a bit naïve at times.

* * *

"Well… this is your drop-spot," Seta declared as he switched off the engine. 

Keitaro briefly looked around, and nodded. "This is a good location. No witnesses," he stated. Opening his duffel bag, he grabbed out his gun holster, which held two guns and multiple clips. The vest held daggers for throwing and close combat, and a pocket which would holster his PDA, where KU connected the satellite imaging there.

There were also some flash grenades, fragment grenades, and some C-KU plastic explosive, which he probably won't be using… though KU insisted he'd bring it. She is probably using him as a testing agent for her new weapon… she promised it would bring out a bigger bang than the standard C4.

Seta had grabbed another bag as Keitaro began to arm himself. The younger man checked his watch, his two guns and vest if it had any spotty manufacturing errors (you can never be too sure with any equipment). When he was good to go, Seta handed him the other bag.

"KU sent me this," Seta said. "Your diving suit and your communicator; water-proof, she said."

The communicator looked like his standard earpiece unit, and placed it on his ear. The diving suit, though, was impressive. It wasn't one of the tight wet-suits; it looked more like an Astronaut's suit. It had two layers, and the zipper was designed in a way to make it for easy opening, yet air-tight and water-proof. The head piece was a spherical glass, attached to the oxygen tanks behind the suit, which minimizes the risk of tangling.

Keitaro was definitely impressed.

"She must have pulled all the stops," Keitaro muttered.

"Nah… I've seen her come up with more impressive stuff," Seta grinned. "I would know, since she invented tools to help me in my excavations."

Keitaro helped himself as he wore the diving suit, and when he was finally finished, Seta checked to see of there were any irregularities or holes before securing and zipping up the suit.

"Time?" Keitaro asked. His watch was underneath the suit.

"7:15," Seta replied.

"I'm late…" Keitaro muttered as he secured his headgear. Going towards the edge of the boat, he sat down, and looked towards the man who smiled at him. "I guess we part ways again eh?"

"We'll meet again, no worries," Seta smiled, giving him a thumbs up.

"Maybe we can have tea next time," Keitaro said before he flipped back, and hit the water.

When the bubbles cleared, Keitaro spotted the personal submarine KU had made under the hull of the boat, secured by a web of metal lines. Releasing it, he secured two safety chords in his suit, and grabbed the two handlebars. He pressed a red button, which turned the screen on, revealing KU.

"You're late, K2s."

Su's voice sounded clear and crisp in his communicator. Her image in the screen wore a small smile.

"Sorry about that, luv, but seas were rather rough," Keitaro muttered. He didn't know whether he could hear her or not, but she seemed to as she gave a nod.

"Well… time to start, eh?" 

"Yup," Keitaro replied. "So… how do you operate this thing?"

"I'm driving."

"Aren't you a bit young?" Keitaro teased.

"If I remember correctly, the last thing you drove crashed into a gate, squeezed through a tunnel, and then exploded." 

"Ouch, don't wound me like that," Keitaro mocked a depressed look. "Besides, my car never went through a tunnel… or even exploded."

Su laughed.

"I wasn't talking about your car." 

"You are going to be a bad influence to dear Shinobu-chan in the future," Keitaro shook his head. "May the lady now drive me to my location? I have a date with a goddess you know, and I heard those Celestials are quite temperamental. Wouldn't want to be late."

Su just grinned.

"No worries, K2s, gonna take you there in a jiffy!" 

"Try not to crash on the rocks," Keitaro teased. The sub twirled in retaliation.

* * *

_Abandoned Facility_

_20 minutes later…_

"Bravo-00 doing our last round, over," one of the guards stated towards their Radios.

"Bravo-00, this is HQ, copy that, over."

"What's with this patrol?" another guard commented. "We've been asked to do our rounds thrice already."

"Dunno," the first guard replied. "From what I've heard, there might be some sort of rescue party to get that demon."

"Really?" the second guard asked.

"Just rumors, actually."

The two guards slowly made their way towards one the doors in the corridor they were patrolling. One of the guards entered, and looked around, before motioning the other guard to come in. They were in a bathroom.

"Remember, we're on high alert, so check every stall," the first guard stated.

"Roger," the other replied.

The two guards systematically began to open the stalls as part of their routine patrol, and when they were done, they moved on towards the other rooms. One of those rooms was a shower room, where they patrolled the perimeter. They failed to notice a slight silver glint coming up from a large drainage hole with a cover that had metal grills on top of it.

The silver glint was actually a blade, and was quite reflective. It hid out of view when any of the guards came too close, or noticed it protruding. Everything seemed in order for them, so the first guard went towards his radio, and opened the frequency.

"HQ, this is Bravo-00… everything's clear," he stated. "Our patrol is done."

"Roger that, Bravo-00. Return to your regular post."

Outside, the two guards were walking away, their patrol now done, not noticing fingers slowly protruding in the spaces on top of the cover. The cover was lifted, and slowly, and silently shoved towards the side.

Keitaro came up from the hole, now removing his diving suit. He had followed KU's guidance to the letter, and so far, everything was going well. Placing his suit on the ground in the far corner of the room, he grabbed his PDA, and checked out where he was…

Somewhere, up above in space, was a satellite looking down towards his location, and it gave him a bird's eye view of where he was, what and who were around him. Handy thing, Keitaro thought… it was like having his own personal radar system.

He grabbed one of his guns, and screwed in a silencer. On his other hand, he grabbed a knife, and went towards the door. He threw his knife outside, and it created a noise and an echo as the blade hit some of the tiles.

"What was that noise?" one of the guards called.

"It's probably nothing," the other said. "Come on… let's go."

"No, wait… I'm gonna check this out first…"

The other guard complained, but couldn't do anything as his partner began to move towards the place where the sound originated from. Deciding it was merely nothing, he stayed in place while the other diligently continued forward.

Keitaro was watching the movement through his PDA, and waited until the guard was just about to cross the open door when he moved. Life a snake, he swiftly grabbed the guard using his arms around his neck. He grunted in surprise, but was swiftly brought down on his knees, and a crack was heard as the agent broke the guard's neck.

"Hey… you okay? I thought I heard you say something," the other guard called, walking down, following his partner.

A muffled shot. The man went down, dead. Keitaro ran towards the fallen guard, and grabbed him by the shoulders and armpit. He dragged him towards the shower room, and threw him right in the hole where he entered… it was also the same hole where he placed the first guard.

Checking that everything's okay, he spoke softly, "I'm in."

"Gotcha, K2s… now… get to the supply room. It's marked at your PDA map." 

Keitaro grabbed his PDA once more, and checked where he was and how far he would have to travel to get into supply room. After calculating the distance, and his travel route, he climbed up the stairs silently and slowly keeping one hand on his gun and the other on a knife.

The abandoned facility was very much like a maze. There were multiple doors, some which led to other corridors which also had doors as well. Keitaro was reminded of that vampire Lord's castle when he was there with Laharl before… or that underground maze of Hinata-sou where the Stone of Dreams was hidden. He had to check his PDA at times to make sure he was going in the right direction.

KU was silent, and Keitaro didn't think much of it. He actually liked it better that way… his thoughts were clearer and helped him relax… ease in the environment. He had passed two guards without them noticing his presence, and wasn't slowed down a bit.

Finally, after another few minutes, he found himself in front of the supply room door. Putting the knife back into its sheath on his vest, he opened the door slightly, and slowly entered the room. It was dark.

He checked his surroundings for a moment before he heard the unmistakable sound of a blade leaving its sheath, and raised his gun at once towards the appearing shadow behind him. There was a blade pointed towards his neck, its metal shining brightly for some reason.

"Hiding in the dark?" Keitaro asked.

"Don't blame me… the dawn has yet to approach this room…" a woman's voice spoke, clear, calm and collected. The moment she said the sentence, they both dropped their weapons.

"Nitasha?" Keitaro asked.

"Obviously," the goddess replied as she stepped out of the light. She had shoulder length blonde hair, and her eyes were sharp, and focused intently on him, probably studying him. "You're that K2 agent?"

"In the flesh," Keitaro gave a small smirk.

"I expected you to be bigger… with all those rumors about you around," the goddess declared.

"Not all of them are true… the good ones are, but the bad ones are terribly misleading," Keitaro offered his hand. She looked at it for a moment before she ignored it and moved towards the door.

"You're late, so let's not waste time," Natasha declared. "I've been itching for some action already."

Keitaro didn't think too badly at her snubbing him… she was a Celestial after all… and they were mostly a very odd bunch. Besides, she had a point… there was no time to waste.

"Gotcha," Keitaro replied. "So… how do you work?"

"Excuse me?" the goddess asked.

"I do my work with silence, stealth, and usually alone," Keitaro explained. "How do you work? I need to know to think how we can proceed."

"I work in any way I can," the goddess replied. "But since I've been ordered to follow your lead, I'll let you decide how we go on."

"Fair enough," Keitaro replied, grabbing his gun. "We move with swiftness and silence. From what I've heard, they like to kill the demons through torture."

"Kinda sadistic, eh?" she asked.

"Very much."

"Well, from our position, the demon representative is probably held in their torture room, about two floors above here…" she stated.

"How would you know that?" Keitaro asked.

"I've had a nice… chat with one of the patrol guards here," she replied with a wicked grin. Keitaro looked at her oddly for a moment before he shook his head. She continued. "Anyway, the way towards the room is littered with guards. It seems someone had leaked part of our rescue mission and they are on high alert."

"That makes things rather hard," Keitaro muttered as he grabbed his PDA. Using that, he checked the map of the facility, and showed it towards the goddess. With her directing, he located the torture room, and scanned its surroundings.

True to her word, going there through the corridors was going to be impossible for him to pass. It was littered with guards, and if the two which he had killed earlier were any indication, they had radios. Even if the goddess would clear the way for them, their enemies might just grab and take off with the representative, or worse, just kill him.

The torture room was located at the very end of a hall in the third floor, with a small window, barred with thick steel rods. The walls were reinforced concrete, and there were no vents that would lead to the place directly. It was a very isolated room, in Keitaro's opinion. That would work against them.

Suddenly, an inspiration hit him. Looking at the goddess, he asked, "You can fly right?"

"Yes," the goddess looked at him oddly. "Why?"

"You can carry me, right?" Keitaro asked.

"You're prolly light to me," the goddess replied. "Again, why?"

"Well, there came a rather weird idea in my head…"

* * *

_Tokyo_

It was a nice homey restaurant, and the waitresses were attractive… some wore very modest yet beautiful maid outfits; it was one of the main attractions of the restaurant. Laharl though, liked the homey atmosphere more than the waitresses, though most were stunning…

Having left Hinata-sou after three days from being rescued from the clutches of the so-called Golden Maiden, he had spent some leisure time teaching at Mahora, and checking projects (Mana had given a rather flimsy one, much to his expectations). Right now, he was being called for a favor, yet again by Kami-sama.

Miyabi, currently a Fourth Class goddess who's angel had been killed by Keitaro Urashima, was going to meet him again in the morning. Laharl always wondered if Kami-sama wasn't doing enough hard work to find her a replacement to heal her mind, or because she, herself, didn't want to be helped.

If it was the latter, he could only do so much. He can heal minds, but, like doctors… he can't heal completely those who don't want to be healed. Nor did he want to… he'd rather go home and play his PS3. Or maybe hang around Yue… she's always fun to tease, especially in front of her friends.

He felt a slight energy flow coming from outside. The signature was similar to a mana teleporter, something a goddess would use. Leaving some money on the table, Laharl went outside towards the back, expecting to meet the blonde goddess only to come face to face with a long, black haired goddess, whose brown eyes looked at her surroundings confused.

"Who are you?" Laharl asked.

"Uh… it's dark… before dawn?" the goddess replied, rather stupidly. "Where am I?"

"Tokyo…"

"… That's… very far from Kagawa…" she muttered.

"Very…" Laharl agreed, his head nodding a bit. "Uh… who are you, and why are you here?"

"Nitasha… I'm supposed to be a U-Agent's backing support for the rescue mission of a demon representative…?" she was unsure of her reply.

"What time was the mission supposed to start?" Laharl asked.

"Why should I answer that?" she asked back, her voice now losing its meekness, and now getting stronger. Seems her confusion wasn't distracting her anymore, and given thought to keeping the mission a secret… though in Laharl's opinion, that secret was shot to hell when she already told him what she was supposed to do.

The hybrid could only look at her. "I… need to make some calls," he muttered before grabbing his cell phone to call KU. What in the hell is going on?

* * *

_Abandoned Facility, Kagawa_

The wall of the torture room exploded with a loud bang, and bits and pieces of concrete with some metallic shrapnel scattering in the air and ground. The guards in the room went on high alert and aimed their guns towards the smoked hole.

In the center of the room was a much roughed up demon, unconscious, and was bleeding from head to toe, with many blades stabbed to his skin. Around him was the torturer, a man working for the Golden Maiden.

A small bouncing thing emerged from the smoke, and exploded in a bright light and loud bang, blinding and deafening those in the room for the moment… a moment which Keitaro and his partner goddess needed.

Swooping inside the room, Keitaro, who was carried by the goddess aimed his guns at the two guards in front, and shot them dead before he was let go to roll on the ground, grab his knife and cut the demon representative free, while the goddess grabbed her blade out and began to hack the other guards with dance-like moves, turning around, and wasting no movement, like she was doing a kata.

The plan was as followed… the goddess would carry Keitaro and fly towards the outside of the torture room wall, where he'd use those C-KU Plastic Explosives to bring down the wall, use a flash bang grenade to blind-side the guards inside. Then, Keitaro would free the demon representative while the goddess would take care of the guards.

"Need more time, K2 agent?" the goddess asked as she noticed the guards in the hall were gathering outside, probably coming in at once and fire.

"No, I'm done," Keitaro replied as he sheathed his knife, and grabbed the unconscious demon. "Get us out of here!"

"No need to tell me," she replied, as she grabbed out what Keitaro identified as a teleporter. She put her arms around Keitaro, who had his hands around the demon representative and muttered some incantation.

Keitaro noticed that everything was becoming bright, so without second thoughts, grabbed his explosive grenade, pulled the pin out with his thumb, and threw it towards the door before everything became blinding. They disappeared.

A second later, a group of guards rushed in, only to find a grenade on the floor in front of them. It exploded.

* * *

_Tokyo_

"Play that again…" Laharl stated as he listened in closely.

KU had told Laharl that Keitaro was already on his mission, and was playing back some of the conversation he had with the goddess with him.

"I've been itching for some action already." 

"Shit…" Laharl cursed. "KU, tell G and H that the mission is sabotaged. And tell them to call Heaven… someone probably messed up with the Yggdrasil, either by accident or purposely. Now!" and he hung up.

"What's going on here?" Nitasha asked.

"Come with me…" Laharl grabbed the goddess' hand, who pulled away.

"No! Don't you try and manhandle me, you lowly demon hybrid!" she snarled. "What is going on here!?"

"I know about your mission with the K2 agent," Laharl muttered.

"… You do?" she asked, nervous.

"Yes… K2 and Nitasha were supposed to be at Kagawa, rescuing a demon representative, right?" Laharl had heard from KU, who easily trusted him with that info. When the goddess nodded, he continued, "Well, the K2 agent is has now rescued the demon representative with his goddess partner, and now probably at the extraction point…"

"Wait… wait… that's impossible!" Nitasha declared. "I am supposed to be his partner!"

"Obviously," Laharl replied.

"Th… then who is he with?" the goddess asked.

"Miyabi… the one who was supposed to meet me here…" Laharl replied. "And… she hates K2."

**To Be Continued…**

_For those expecting that… :P it was a given. ;) See you next chapter. _


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

**03 - **_Lost  
_

* * *

"Talk to me KU," Laharl muttered desperately towards his cell phone as he dragged the goddess, Nitasha on his tow. "Have you gotten or made any contact with Keitaro?" 

"No… ever since the goddess teleported him and the demon representative out of the facility, I'm having trouble tracking him. I'll keep trying though…" 

"Damn it…" Laharl shut his connection to her, and looked towards the goddess. "Alright… where is the extraction point?" he asked.

"Why should I tell you?" the goddess demanded.

"Didn't you hear what I just told you?"

"I heard what you said just fine," the goddess replied. "I just don't understand. What in the Heaven's going on?"

"Okay, you want simple terms, fine; you were supposed to be in an abandoned facility in Kagawa Prefecture, right?" Laharl asked. When the goddess nodded, he continued, "Well, you're in Tokyo right now and talking to me instead of being there. Someone else took your place in rescuing the demon representative… and that replacement is someone I was supposed to meet here. I recognized her voice through a recorded conversation she had with the U Agent."

"Okay…?" the goddess asked blankly. The hybrid stared at her.

"What is there not to understand? You were supposed to be there, not here! The one who's supposed to be here, is there, and to top it off, she hates K2," Laharl suddenly grabbed the surprised goddess by the shoulders. "Tell me where the extraction point is supposed to be!"

"I don't know!"

"Don't lie!" Laharl growled softly. "Don't you understand? She wants kill him! She's been telling me that she wanted to kill him for the past 4 sessions we had! So forget your secrecy shit for a moment because this is an emergency! Where is he?"

"I really don't know!" the goddess replied, her voice rose. "I was never given coordinates on where the extraction point would be… all I know is the demons have stated where it would take place, and that the place was a dead zone."

"Dead zone… brilliant," Laharl shook his head. No wonder KU wasn't able to get into contact with Keitaro ever since he got teleported out… the extraction point was in the middle of a dead zone… quite smart, in his opinion.

The dead zone was a place where almost no radio or modern technology could reach. It was also usually a, as the name implies, a dead place, where almost no living things, except probably bacteria, live on. It was said that Dead Zones were holes in the Yggdrasil… a perfect place for secret meetings and plots because it's guaranteed that almost no one can interfere unless the place was known.

A perfect place to do an extraction. Laharl cursed.

"I did get a teleporter, though," the goddess stated with an odd smile. "My Commanding Goddess told me yesterday to use this when we've nabbed the representative for a quick get-away."

Laharl could only stare at her.

"And… you're just revealing this to me now because…?"

The goddess could only look at him blankly. "Um… I just remembered…" she replied unsurely.

"Can you use it so we can go there, and rescue the U-Agent?" Laharl asked.

"Sure… just let me start this thing up…"

The hybrid could only sigh… and wished this goddess would hurry up.

* * *

_Dead Zone 11213131_

"Thank you," one of the demon soldiers spoke as the representative that both Keitaro and his goddess partner rescued was returned safely to the extraction team.

"Not a problem," Keitaro replied with a slight smile.

"We shall contact heaven and your Agency… you have completed the mission," another demon spoke. "We shall take our leave."

Keitaro watched the demons and the representative walk away, and grabbing one of their teleporters, they disappeared in a blinding light. After a moment, he looked towards his partner, and gave her an easy smile.

"Well… I guess that's all, eh?" Keitaro asked.

"Is this the part where you'll charm me into sleeping with you, Mr. K2?" the goddess asked. The agent could only blink and he shook his head.

"I think rumors have badly misinformed you, Nitasha," Keitaro replied.

"Then… re-educate me on who you are exactly," the goddess stated. "You're name is Keitaro Urashima… age 20. Son of Kazama, a baker. Am I right?"

"You're rather well informed," Keitaro agreed in a low tone. He was a bit curious to where the goddess was going at, but he was also a bit uncomfortable of someone else retelling him his life history. The only other being that talked like this was Laharl… and he only did that as part of his mission to test him.

"At the age of five, you witnessed the death of a close friend of yours…"

Keitaro cleared his throat, cutting her off. "Yes… I think I got the part that you have studied me well…" he said with an even tone.

"You sound hurt…" the goddess looked at him. "Surely… after all these years…"

"After all these years don't change the facts," Keitaro cut her off, his tone beginning to grow a bit colder.

The goddess looked at him, and smiled for a moment.

"I understand completely…" she stated with a nod. "There are some things you can never forget, right?"

She slowly approached him, her eyes smile was sultry and inviting. Keitaro looked at her in a confused manner, wondering what was on her mind now, and when her lips slowly caressed his, the agent moved away slightly.

"Yes… there are some things you can never forget," Keitaro said. "Like how you asked earlier, in a very uninviting tone I might add, if I was going to try and sleep with you. I am rather confused on your actions now."

She smirked a bit, and approached him again. "I'm afraid it's simple… I find you rather attractive and I want to sleep with you."

"You're lying… and nothing in this world is simple," Keitaro replied, staying still.

The goddess smiled, and kissed him gently, her hands moved towards Keitaro's chest. "Yes… nothing in this world is simple… but when it comes to action…" she suddenly smirked.

Keitaro yelped as he felt her hands seemingly burn his skin. He moved away from her, clutching the spot he touched, and stared at her hard.

"When it comes to action… it's just a simple notion on whether you are willing to do it or not…" the goddess smiled and turned away from Keitaro, slowly expanding the distance between them.

"What are you talking about?" Keitaro asked neutrally. The burn feeling was gone, but the way the goddess is acting was raising his alarm.

"It's a simple concept, Mr. K2… I want to do something, and I will do it," the goddess stated.

The whole place suddenly began to glow. A barrier of light… that was all the agent could describe as it rose from the ground, and slowly encompassed the place, forming a half-sphere. After a few minutes, Keitaro found himself trapped along with the goddess who didn't seem a bit disturbed at the new happenings.

"What is going on?" Keitaro asked, looking at the goddess. Something was definitely wrong here. "Nitasha?"

"My, my, you ask a lot for a human," the goddess laughed.

"Is this your doing?" he asked.

"Yes…" the goddess replied. "Well, truthfully, I haven't personally done this. I had a little help with someone up there…" she pointed towards the sky. "This barrier is done so you wouldn't escape."

"Escape?" Keitaro grabbed his two guns. "I know I'm rather wanted, but this is too much, even for a goddess."

"Charming even in such situations, Mr. K2?" the goddess smiled.

"I don't know my situation, hence the guns," Keitaro countered with his own smile, which quickly faded. "What do you want, Nitasha?"

"Maybe I should drop the façade," the goddess replied. "Let me re-introduce myself. My name is Miyabi. And what I want… is revenge."

* * *

_Tokyo_

"You do know we are in a hurry, right?" Laharl asked towards the goddess, who was still charging the teleporter with mana.

"I know!" Nitasha replied rather scathingly. "Give me a minute…"

"Oh for god's sake… how hard it is to charge this thing with mana?" Laharl demanded. "You're a goddess aren't you?"

"Look, I have difficulty in drawing mana, okay!? So, you either do it yourself, or leave it to me!" Nitasha growled.

Laharl could only look at her. "Just hurry up…" he muttered.

* * *

_Dead Zone 11213131_

"Revenge?" Keitaro moved towards his left, his guns still aimed at her. "Revenge for what?"

"My angel…" she replied in a soft tone. "My angel that you killed."

"Angel… what…" and he stopped when he remembered his first mission as a U-Agent. He remembered her details… from her hair, pale demeanor, and the details of the butt of his gun slamming in her eye. The bullets riddling her torso… that angel.

She realized that he remembered and gave a small nod to him. "By your reaction, I'd say you remember which angel you killed."

"I didn't know she was yours," Keitaro mumbled a bit.

"Of course you didn't," Miyabi growled. "I bet you that you didn't even give it much thought until now! After all… what was my angel to you? A target, a mishap… and a blot to your perfect service record, am I right?"

A sudden bolt of light suddenly burst from her body, and slammed into the surprised supernatural agent. He flew a few meters away, and landed hard on his back. He lost his secondary gun, and assumed a fetal position as he tried to block the pain he felt on his gut.

"But to me, Mr. K2… she was my partner… my friend… my companion," Miyabi slowly approached the fallen agent. "Of course… you wouldn't understand that. You rarely work with a partner… last time you did, it was that demon hybrid, Laharl. Hah! Like that was a partnership… I wish I could see his face, meeting with the real Nitasha."

Miyabi lifted Keitaro up, who suddenly aimed his gun towards her stomach, and fired away. The goddess was thrown back, releasing her grip on the agent as Keitaro continued to shoot at her until he emptied the clip. For a moment, he thought he had saved himself, only to realize that the goddess was playing possum when she just stood up straight, and smiled at him.

"I think you had your twelve, now let me have just one…" and she grinned at him before dashing towards his position, and gave a very strong punch towards his gut. Keitaro found himself in the air for a few moments before he landed on his knees, coughing air.

After a moment, she kicked him at the head, making him fall to the ground. She laughed.

"Get up, Mr. K2," the goddess taunted. "Surely, you'd have more fight than this?"

In response, Keitaro tried unsuccessfully to trip her and bringing her down to his level… she dodged in the last second, and brought him up, and kneed once again on his stomach.

"Pathetic!" she exclaimed before she punched him to the cheek, which Keitaro blocked with his forearm and countered with one hammer punch towards her chest which got her to back away a few steps.

"Now… that was more like it," she growled.

Keitaro jumped at the chance of space, and moved as he tried to look around for a good spot to either hide, or bide his time. Unfortunately, there is nothing around the place that would prove useful… the surroundings were barren and empty. He silently cursed.

"You got nowhere to run, Mr. K2," the goddess cackled softly. "I have to admit… while the planning was a bit rushed, it's quite an accomplishment. When I heard you were going to be partnered with a goddess to rescue some demon representative… I saw my chance."

Five bolts of energy were released from Miyabi's open palms, and rushed towards Keitaro, who jumped away. One barely grazed Keitaro's arm, while he dodged the others completely. He rolled on the ground, and moved farther away from her.

"Had a friend of mines… an Yggdrasil technician, to do a switch," the goddess stalked him, smiling. "He must have done a really rough hack… but seeing you're here, alone, and at my mercy, it was adequate. The higher ups don't even seem to care about minor details… they just probably saw a battle goddess for the mission, and went on their way."

_Keep talking… _Keitaro thought as he slowly approached his secondary gun. He didn't know what to do, but for now he needed his gun.

"But I'm disappointed in you, Mr. K2," the goddess continued to walk slowly towards him. "The human that seduced and beaten vampires. Survived two angry neko-lycan twins… and beat the Golden Maiden's private army single-handedly with two guns to rescue the infamous Demon Eyes Laharl. And this is the challenge you give me?"

Keitaro already found his second gun, but bid his time, and didn't show any sign he had found it, and waited for a moment for the goddess to approach him. He used his ears to judge how far she was by her footsteps, and she was near, he turned, aiming his gun behind him… only to see nothing but air.

"Good try," Miyabi whispered towards Keitaro behind him, her hand grabbing his raised firearm. "But not enough…"

She was suddenly cut off like her clothing when Keitaro's other arm lashed out towards her chest with a hint of silver. She barely dodged the blade coming to cut her, and she was left exposed from the top.

"Not enough, luv?" Keitaro growled darkly as he stood up, and grabbed another dagger from his vest with his other hand and went to fighting position. "I still have a few more tricks up my sleeve."

"Trying to get a rise out of me?" the goddess sneered.

"Yes…" Keitaro replied without pause, and threw one of the daggers towards the goddess, and charged towards her.

She dodged the thrown projectile, and blocked his first two attacks with her hands. She tried to get a good position to counter attack, but couldn't. Keitaro kept himself moving at all times, so as not liable to get caught, while planning another attack.

"What are you planning, you cockroach?" Miyabi asked as she dodged another swipe coming towards her.

"Oh you'll know soon," Keitaro muttered his reply through gritted teeth. After he moved position and took another swipe, he smirked a bit. "About right… NOW!"

The goddess looked at his eyes, trying to guess what kind of attack was coming when she suddenly felt herself pulled towards the agent. She noticed that his free hand was grabbing the hole of her clothes while his other was holding a blade.

He used two forces in this attack, the goddess would guess. His pull of her towards him, and pushing the blade he held on his other hand that was going directly towards her face. Miyabi didn't even blink as she raised both her hands and blocked the blade in between her two palms.

"That's it?" she asked with a smirk.

"No… this…" and Keitaro let go of the blade, and quickly grabbed a grenade which he hasn't used and pulled the pin with his teeth… and with a rather dark smirk, proclaimed, "This… is it…" as he dropped the grenade right inside the hole of her clothes, and kicked her away.

The explosion was still strong, even after moving away from the goddess. The outgoing air hit Keitaro like a wrecking ball. The white magic barrier had stopped his momentum, though the force had evacuated almost all air inside Keitaro's lungs. He took a few moments to cough in back what he lost.

There was a sort of tapping sound behind him, but Keitaro ignored that. It wasn't until he heard his name did he look behind him… and his eyes widened.

"Laharl!?" Keitaro gasped softly.

* * *

The demon hybrid couldn't exactly hear him speak, but he could read Keitaro's lips fine. Nitasha had finally charged the teleporter, and had transported them to the extraction point, but somehow, she pointed out, they were a bit off. And they now knew why. 

"What is a magical barrier doing here?" the goddess asked, surprised. "This wasn't part of the plan!"

"Ask questions later!" Laharl replied. "We have to break through this… Oi, Keitaro, hold on, we'll get you of there in a moment!"

He quickly studied the barrier for a moment, taking in some notes to it, and feeling how the energy flowed. He recognized it.

"Go call Heaven and tell them someone's using the Yggdrasil illegally," Laharl told the Nitasha.

"How would you know…"

"You think being a demon makes gods and goddesses go and give me hugs!?" Laharl asked her incredulously. "You know my damn history! I know when a barrier is erected through the Ygg… now go to Heaven and tell them what I told you! NOW!"

"You are one demanding hybrid," the goddess muttered before she used her teleporter to disappear, hopefully going to Heaven to get the barrier down.

Laharl looked towards Keitaro who looked at him rather confused. He pointed towards where Nitasha disappeared, and stated, "She was supposed to be your partner. Charming, eh?"

Keitaro still had the strength to smile before he felt a great mana wave coming from behind him. Both guys looked towards the direction where it came from, and noticed a shadow walking towards Keitaro, holding a katana.

The shadow let a cackle out.

* * *

_Heaven_

"That is some tale, Nitasha," a beautiful goddess declared.

Nitasha had teleported back to Heaven, and relayed Laharl's message towards her superior goddess whom she answered for.

"Quite, mistress," Nitasha replied respectfully. "The hybrid, Laharl told me that we find out who's using an Yggdrasil Barrier illegally to rescue the K2 agent."

"Very well… come with me," the goddess called, and both went on their way towards the Yggdrasil Department when suddenly the alarms blared.

Nitasha looked around confused. "What is going on, mistress?" she asked.

"I'll check, stay here, Nitasha," the goddess superior stated before she moved towards the nearest rushing Emergency Response Angels. "What is going on here?"

"Someone's hacking in the Yggdrasil with unrestricted access!" one of the angels responded. "There's been fluctuations and data streaming with connecting universes… its horrible!"

"Who is hacking it?" the goddess asked.

"We don't know… the source is from a dead zone on Earth XXXX131…" the Angel rushed on, the goddess now stopping to her tracks.

The Earth the angel had said was the extraction point of the demon representative. She had to get back to Nitasha, and tell her to investigate.

* * *

_Tokyo University_

_April 1_

Mutsumi Otohime looked at her study partner and friend suddenly seemed groan and ducked down. She was momentarily confused by his sudden action from seeing Naru Narusegawa, a girl he had a big crush on.

"Kei-kun… are you okay?" she asked.

Keitaro's eyes suddenly looked up, and looked so surprised that got the poor woman even more confused.

"MT… what are you doing here?" he suddenly asked. He looked around. "And where am I?"

"MT?" Mutsumi looked at him, confused. "Why are you calling me MT? And you're in Tokyo U, silly!"

"Todai…?" Keitaro looked around, confused. "How can I be in Todai… I was just fighting off… LOOK OUT!"

Mutsumi found himself in Keitaro's arms as he pulled her close. A manhole cover was flying dangerously low, and almost him and Mutsumi along.

"You okay?" he asked her.

Mutsumi couldn't respond. The way his eyes looked at her… it was like he hadn't seen her for a long while. They were warm and quite inviting in her opinion… he never stared at her in that way. She also noticed the way he placed his body close to hers… it seems like he lost all shyness.

"Kei… Keitaro…" her blush came out. This was rather new. Usually, it was him blushing, and she'd pretend to be either not care when they were this close. But her wistfulness suddenly vanished when something from above seemingly was coming down at them. "Lo… look out!!"

Keitaro took her up automatically and ran, dodging the crashing Tanuki Statue that was going to slam towards them. He grunted as he used all his strength to carry her and run as a few more items were coming at him for some reason.

He was confused… heck, he was more than confused. He had no idea what just happened. The last memory he had was that goddess Miyabi going to stab him to the heart with her katana, and Laharl was trying to punch a hole in the barrier when everything went white… and the next thing he knew, he was there, beside Mutsumi and in Tokyo University.

Keitaro yelped as a car (!?) crashed behind him, sending some parts of glass on his back. He was being slow… his arms were getting sore. And the odd thing is that it shouldn't be! Either Mutsumi got really heavy the last time he carried her, or he gotten very weak…

At least his legs weren't complaining… though he could have sworn he could run faster than this. When the crashing behind him stopped, he thought it was all clear until he saw the shadow on the ground he was running at.

Looking behind him, he gasped. For some reason, the rooftop of one of the buildings of Todai was coming down on them. In a last ditch effort, he threw Mutsumi away, and didn't even breathe when the whole thing just slammed on him with the full force of gravity, putting him in the world of darkness.

* * *

_Hospital_

Confusion… pain... shock. Three things that suddenly came to Keitaro's mind when he woke up.

Confusion came when he saw an unfamiliar ceiling. He tried to sit up, only to gasp in pain coming from his whole body. He checked himself for a moment, and saw that was he was covered in bandages, and his leg was in a cast.

He didn't even begin contemplating on the fact which hospital he was before the door suddenly opened, revealing five females. Motoko, Su, Kitsune, Shinobu, and a blonde little kid he didn't recognize. The shock came when they suddenly began to talk at once.

"Hey Keitaro!" Su came busting in with a childish smile on her face. "Heard you have complex bone thingy!"

"Yeah, weird, eh?" Kitsune replied. "Hospitalized with a broken leg just before even getting to attend class at Todai? The gods must really hate ya!"

While Su and the blonde kid went to his cast, and began to put graffiti on it, Shinobu and Motoko approached him from the side.

"Sempai… are you okay?" Shinobu asked.

"You must have turned to a mere human," Motoko began, "for not healing an injury like this…"

Keitaro had only one thing in mind when he saw them all.

_Who are these people?_

He was utterly confused. For some reason, Kitsune was giving a vibe and not acting like she usually did around him. Su was silly… even more so than she usually is and even playing along with the blonde kid… he still couldn't identify her. Motoko was also acting differently… she seemed quite more civil at him, and didn't have that aura of which she usually put up every time they were in a room together.

She was actually acting quite nice. And that was scaring him.

His second shock came when H came in, wearing her 'Tea House' clothes… except the way she stood and acted wasn't the same H he knew. She wasn't even armed… H always kept a small knife in her hip, hidden well beneath even those clothes. Maybe he ought to check closer.

"Doctors say it's going to take months for your leg to heal," Haruka stated towards Keitaro. "Since it can't be helped, you're going to take time off from your school. For your other injuries though… they'll heal after a week, so no problem."

_Like I care going to school, _Keitaro thought, though he wondered why he couldn't go with a broken leg.

"Auntie, why can't I go to school?" Keitaro asked. "It's not like I got hit in the brain, or having neurological problems… or do I?"

Everyone paused and looked at him. Most of them laughed.

"Oh, Keitaro, you really want to attend Todai, don't ya?" Kitsune laughed.

"I'll skip the aunt bit for now, since you're injured," his aunt quipped.

"By the way… where is Naru?" Kitsune suddenly asked. "Is she visiting?"

Keitaro found it odd for Narusegawa to visit him, but didn't voice it. But it seems the other tenants had the same opinion.

"Did she do anything after the ceremony?" Motoko asked.

"She prolly doesn't care what happens to this guy," the blonde kid pointed out. Keitaro had to agree with her.

But the moment she spoke, the door knob turned, surprising both Keitaro and Kitsune into looking.

"Naru…?" the woman asked, unsure.

It wasn't Naru… it was Mutsumi.

"Oh, hey! Its Turtle girl!" Su suddenly declared, and everyone greeted the woman. Keitaro looked at everyone, and found it odd that they knew her, since to his memory… they never met… except KU…

"Kei-kun," Mutsumi greeted as she came in. She couldn't meet his eyes for some reason. "Are you feeling better?"

"Quite… are you okay, Mu-chan?" Keitaro asked. She blushed horribly, but seemingly no one else caught up on what Keitaro had called her, except one woman, who suddenly looked thoughtful.

"Ah… anyways… Naru-san was approached by a Miss Todai scout" Mutsumi changed the subject almost at once, something very uncharacteristic of her, in Keitaro's opinion. Mutsumi is usually calm, collected and not easily embarrassed.

"Wow… Naru-san's incredible!"

Keitaro didn't know who spoke, nor did he listen to what anyone was telling anymore. He found himself so out of place in the hospital bed, wondering if he was either dreaming, or in a coma. Maybe he was actually dead, and this is Heaven… a place quite bright, where his tenants, friends, team-mates and lovers are with him.

He had to make sure.

"Aunty…" he called.

"Haruka-san," Haruka corrected with a glare.

"Haruka-san," Keitaro muttered, and beckoned her to come closer. "I have something to say."

Curious, the woman softly approached him, "Yes?" she asked. "What is it Keitaro?"

"H, what does G have to say for all this?" Keitaro whispered softly at her, making sure his tone was low as not to be heard by everyone else, who was slightly busy listening in about Naru.

"Who's G?" Haruka asked, looking suspicious. "And why are you calling me H?"

"Never mind," Keitaro muttered, hoping against odds that this was some sort of demented dream.

But as time passed by, he knew he wasn't dreaming, nor was he in Heaven. The sky darkened, and everyone left, stating its already past visiting hours.

Left alone, he looked up in the ceiling blankly thinking what was going on. Since everything had gone quiet, he would slowly retreat at the back of his mind to take the details on how everything had gone so far. He closed his eyes.

It was the same as before. Miyabi was going to stab him. Laharl was punching the barrier outside. Everything went white… and everything vanished.

"Oi… Keitaro!"

The agent's eyes opened suddenly when he heard a familiar voice. Opening his eyes, he saw Naru bedside, smiling.

"Oh… Narusegawa-san…" Keitaro greeted.

"Narusegawa-san?" she frowned suddenly, looking a tad displeased. She shook her head. "You know, I was waiting for you when the ceremony was over… it was really idiotic to get injured just after you finally passed!"

She might have called him an idiot, but for some reason, Keitaro couldn't feel anything negative or malicious about her tone. It was like, she was joking around, yet serious at the same time.

"Anyways," she continued with a small worried smile, "I'm sorry I was late… I met with a few acquaintances."

"Ah…" Keitaro nodded, unsure about her actions. "Was… was the ceremony good?"

"Oh, that was the funny part!" Naru smiled at him. "I couldn't understand a word out of the University President! But Mutsumi-san just kept nodding, saying 'un uhn', it was hilarious! Oh and the banquet… it was really something!"

Keitaro didn't speak as he felt affection from the woman whom he normally haphazardly met civilly. Mutsumi being shy was one thing… Kitsune being distant can be another thing. But having Narusegawa treat him like this was something he couldn't get his head into.

Even now, she offered to peel him some apples as she continued to re-tell her story of Todai acceptance festivities. She spoke for a good 5 minutes or so before she gently nudged Keitaro.

"Keitaro… anything wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing…" he mumbled.

"Ah… it just seems you're… distant," Naru stated softly, looking at him. She looked at her watch, and she suddenly stood up. "Oh… it's late!"

"Maybe you ought to go," Keitaro stated with a nod. "You have school tomorrow, right?"

Naru looked at him oddly. For some reason, the way he said it was like driving her away… but she couldn't find fault in his logic, and nodded back.

"I'll try to visit when I can," Naru smiled at him. Keitaro gave her a smile back.

"See you later, then," Keitaro replied.

Naru looked back a moment before she went out of the hospital room, and walked on the hallway until she spotted her friends, who immediately greeted her.

"Naru-san!" Mutsumi called. "You came!"

"Oh, hey everybody," Naru greeted back. "Yeah, I did… What are you guys doing back here, though? I saw you guys leave."

"Yeah, but we kinda forgot to bring him the gifts we brought," Kitsune replied.

"And some stuff from the ceremony," Mutsumi nodded. "Is Kei-kun okay?"

"Yeah… a bit weird, but yeah," Naru stated. "Come on, guys. I'll join you…"

"Sure!" and the group began to walk back towards Keitaro's room.

"Keitaro!" Kitsune called as she opened the door. "We brought some…"

She went silent when she saw the bed empty. Everyone suddenly rushed in, panicked.

"Where's Keitaro?" Naru asked.

"I… I think he went out through the window…" Motoko replied as she looked towards the open pane.

"With a broken leg!?" Naru asked.

"I-I think he grabbed a crutch," Shinobu pointed out towards the wooden aid in the corner of the room. "There were two of them…"

"What's the dork thinking?" the blonde kid asked.

"Come on! We gotta find him!" Naru declared.

* * *

_Streets_

Keitaro passed through the streets with hazard breathing. He didn't know what to do, or where to go… he just knew one thing.

He was in hell. Or something close to it.

He didn't mind the change of attitudes of some of the people he knew. He didn't mind not moving as fast or being as strong as he remembered. He didn't even mind the sudden blindness he acquired to wear such dreadful spectacles. But Haruka, very convincingly not knowing who G was? Or even respond to him calling her H?

She could have been covering herself, but there was no need. No one else on the room was interested on his talk with his aunt. And she definitely didn't have the knife hidden… when she approached, he was finally sure.

Wherever he was, he wasn't in his… world. It must be some sort of alternate dimension that Sci-Fi story tellers talk about. Or maybe he was in hell… killed by that mad goddess Miyabi.

"I see…" a sudden voice cut through his thoughts.

Keitaro could feel a large mana source behind him. He turned around, and spotted a woman in a black dress, with long flowing hair behind her. He couldn't make out her details in the darkness, but he knew whoever she was, she was very exotic looking.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"A fellow watcher in this world," the woman replied calmly, slowly approaching him. "I wondered who had entered this world…"

"Again, who are you?" Keitaro demanded this time, his tone now cold.

"Knowing who I am isn't what you truly want," the woman replied, now her details becoming clearer. "What you want to know… is where you are."

Keitaro gasped silently as she spoke those words. His teeth gritted, new questions popping on his head. He wanted to know how she knew… he wanted to know who she was… is she an enemy? Is she there to confuse him? He couldn't decide.

"It… it seems you have the advantage," Keitaro replied evenly. "The name's Urashima. Keitaro Urashima. Who are you?"

"My name's Ichihara Yuko…" the woman replied with a small smile. "May I invite you to my home?"

"Is it far?" Keitaro asked.

"Not very," she replied.

Keitaro looked at her for a moment. He nodded, and went to her, for now, completely lost.

**To Be Continued**


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

**04 - **_A View to a Truth_

* * *

Laharl knew the moment he opened his eyes, he wasn't where he last remembered being. The metallic ceiling and the white light, with the smell of disinfectant was rather strong to his already extra sensitive senses.

He ignored the nurse that asked him if he was alright and just nodded towards her inquiries, and kindly asked her to leave. His head was still hurting, and he had no other injuries from which he could surmise.

"You feeling alright, hybrid?"

Laharl looked up, and spotted Nitasha entering his hospital room. She looked less panicky than before, and pretty much composed, though he could see a slight anticipation in her form.

"Just a headache," Laharl replied. "What happened?"

"Big, that's what happened!" Nitasha walked towards the bed, and began to recount her tale.

"The moment I got to Heaven, the alarms suddenly blared… it seems someone was hacking into the Yggdrasil and there were data fluctuations everywhere!" Nitasha declared. "I was told the hacker was in the Dead Zone… in the extraction place. Did you see anyone who could have hacked into the Yggdrasil?"

"No," Laharl replied at once.

The goddess looked at him for a moment with narrow eyes.

"I don't believe you," she said. "You're lying."

"About?" Laharl challenged.

"Ah, forget it," Nitasha muttered. "Whoever hacked in the Yggdrasil though did some particularly heavy stuff."

"Like?"

"Well, according to what our technicians could derive from the data streaming, the hacker had successfully attempted a soul hijack, while connecting a possible hundred of other Universes to dump its data on," Nitasha paused. "You do know about the truth about multiple universes, right?"

"Yes, get on with the story," Laharl urged her to continue.

"To make long story short… we can't find his soul," Nitasha declared. "We can't find agent K2's soul in his body. It's been transferred somewhere… we don't know where."

"How about Miyabi?" Laharl asked.

"That's kinda cold you know," the goddess looked at the hybrid with a slight glare. "Your friend's soul is gone, and you're more interested about that goddess you were going to heal."

Laharl gave her an incredulous stare.

"I'm a demon. I don't have friends, and blah, blah, blah. Now, where is Miyabi?"

"She's gone," the goddess huffed. "When I arrived, you were unconscious. She was nowhere to be seen, and agent K2's soul-less body was there, untouched."

"Thanks," Laharl muttered in a cool tone.

"Yeah, for nothing," Nitasha growled. "When agent K2's is soul is found, it'll be returned to him. So for the meantime, I'll watch over him."

She glared at the hybrid.

"At least someone has to show some support for a human that helps his race's cause in the world."

Laharl didn't bother to reply and watched the goddess leave. When he was sure she was gone, he grabbed his cell phone which was on the bed-table beside him, and called someone.

"Hello… Lloyd…" Laharl muttered in a low tone, his voice becoming slightly shaky. "It's me… Yes, I know everything's in a state of panic there in Heaven… but…"

He took a deep breathe.

"I used my Fate Alter," he finally said. "Yeah… I'm sorry… but... he needed help. Yeah, I heard what happened and how extensive the damage is…"

Laharl sighed, and looked around a moment, unconsciously checking if anyone was going to enter.

"Can you find him?" he asked. "… I understand. Please… keep me posted, alright?"

He closed the connection to his phone. He took a deep breathe. He silently cursed… and wondered if Keitaro was out there, somewhere.

* * *

"You live here?" Keitaro asked, his eyes darting around the place. "Looks abandoned." 

"I don't exactly live here," the woman in front of him replied. "But this is a place I rest when I stay in this world."

"You make it sound like you don't live on Earth," Keitaro joked.

"Not on this Earth, yes," the woman replied, flicking a switch open. The whole room was suddenly flooded in light, and she made her way towards a resting chair, long enough for her to lie down.

"Please… sit."

Keitaro obliged. For the first time, he studied the woman's features in more detail. The way she moved her body was also enticing to his eyes. Her skin was also pale, smooth, and unblemished.

She was very exotic, and beautiful. Her eyes were brownish red, almost similar to Laharl's, but for some reason, feel slightly creepier. And that made her dangerous to him.

"You needn't worry," she said soothingly. "I'm not your enemy."

"I don't know that yet," Keitaro replied with a neutral tone. "I'm still deciding what you are… though you can save me the trouble, and just say so yourself."

"I told you… I'm a fellow watcher of this world," she replied easily. "Tell me…" she looked at his eyes when she asked this, "… does the term Multiple Universe mean anything to you?"

"No…" Keitaro replied truthfully. "But from the name, I can venture a guess."

She smiled at that.

"Basically… it means there's more than one Universe," she replied. "The place you lived, your friends… you; the truth is, there is more than one you. There is more than one Universe. You're Universe… is not the only Universe."

Keitaro swallowed. It felt like the air was slowly grasping his neck, slowly suffocating him.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

The woman suddenly smiled, her eyes turning playful. Her body turned a bit, and faced him completely, almost as if asking him to pay attention.

"It's funny, no matter how many times it is said they always react the same way," the woman stated. "Confused… lost… apparently, not knowing what to do."

"You are not in your world," she continued. "But you're a smart boy. You probably figured that out on your own…"

"You give me a lot of credit… especially for someone you just met," Keitaro replied with a small smile.

Her hands slowly clasped against each other, held by the spaces between her long fingers, and placed her thumbs on her chin, giving Keitaro a studied look.

"I may… but I can see you're no ordinary person," she replied carefully. "While your body may not show it… your eyes tell me everything. You live a life that some never dreamed of living. You've seen things ordinary people should never see…"

"That's an interesting theory," Keitaro gave her a mock smile. "Continue."

If she was insulted by his response and reaction, she didn't show. Her smile was still steady, and her form never changed.

"For the short time we spent together, I surmised two things from you," the woman relaxed her pose. "You aren't an ordinary person… and… you've heard of me."

"Now you're grabbing straws, lady," Keitaro replied. "I've never heard of you."

"Liar…" she stated at once, not really accusing, but saying it as a fact. "You've heard of me… hence why you trusted me rather quickly."

"You're wrong," Keitaro countered. "I don't trust you."

"Not completely, yes," Yuko smiled. "You didn't trust me with your real name."

Keitaro found it odd that she mentioned that he never mentioned his real name. Didn't he introduce himself truthfully?

"My name is Keitaro Urashima," he insisted.

"That is the name you get by, yes," she continued. "But that is not your real name. That is not who you really are."

She slowly slid down, and looked up in the ceiling, crossing her legs a bit, and letting her feet touch the floor, while Keitaro was still confused on what she was talking about.

"You have another name, and that name defines you… maybe you know what I'm talking about or really clueless… either way, not giving your real name is quite smart," she smiled at Keitaro. "For example… my real name is not Yuko Ichihara, for giving your real name towards someone grants them power and knowledge over you."

Keitaro bit his lower lip, and shook his head with a slight smile. He looked towards the woman, and studied her eyes hard, which didn't flinch or move away from his stare, but stared back without budging.

He relented, and gave an inch to hopefully gain a meter.

"Laharl mentioned your name," Keitaro stated truthfully.

The woman looked at him for a moment, before her smile became slightly wicked.

"Interesting," she stated. "Everything suddenly becomes clearer… the question of your appearance in this world is explained, just by being associated by that demon hybrid."

"How so?" Keitaro asked.

"I am not the person who should explain it to you," Yuko replied evenly, but her smile was still there. "Though I can help you with the other questions now. Just not about Laharl. Like you're question about the Universe… though I believe you got the gist on your own."

Keitaro did, indeed. It seems he wasn't far off his earlier theories of being in a parallel dimension, but even knowing this, it didn't make him feel any better.

"Is… is there any way to get back home?" he asked.

"I believe so," she smiled kindly. "Something like this to happen is unprecedented. It risks in destroying Universes, something I don't think gods would want. All you need is time… and they'll find you. And if not… Laharl will."

Keitaro chuckled at the idea of Laharl going out on a limb to find him. As much as he liked the hybrid, Laharl was still an agent, and as such, ideally, is impersonal, unbiased, and all that professional stuff.

"I don't think he will," Keitaro replied.

"I've known him longer than you," Yuko said. "He never leaves anything uncovered or unfinished… especially since, I hazard to say, this situation is largely his fault." She paused. "That will be the only statement I will give regarding your hybrid friend."

Keitaro nodded. He knew she wouldn't say any more about Laharl.

"Can't you help me get back to my world?" Keitaro asked.

"I'm just a watcher… its _hitsuzen,_ the reason you are here, and I leave my hands out of that," she replied. "If you were in my shop, I might have offered you a wish for a price."

"Can't you grant a wish for me now?" Keitaro asked, thinking he could wish himself back home.

"I could… but… would you accept the price of such a heavy wish?" Yuko asked mysteriously, smiling at him. "You wish to go home, I assume."

"Yes, so what price would I pay if I wished for that?" he asked.

"The death of this Universe," she replied at once. "Could you live with that knowledge in your heart?"

There was a moment of pause, in which Keitaro took the time to swallow what she just said.

"Of course," she suddenly smiled jovially, "I could be lying."

"Were you?"

"I won't tell," Yuko replied. "I may lie about the price of such a wish… but I spoke truth about your wish. It will cause a heavy toll on your soul."

Keitaro found himself slightly annoyed by the woman's apathy of his situation. She was playing with him, and he could feel it, and even taste it. She might not be his enemy, but she's not any less dangerous.

"About the Universe… how many are they?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Do you really want to know?"

"No… probably not," Keitaro replied. "Can you then tell me about this world? Like… how is the supernatural situation here, and who is keeping the balance?"

"The supernatural creatures here are quite low in number, and don't attract attention to themselves too much," Yuko answered. "There are occasional mysterious deaths, or injuries, but never pointed towards them."

"But who keeps the balance, and defend regular people from attacks?" Keitaro asked.

"This world has mages, and of course, the samurai lineage of the Aoyama's," Yuko nodded.

"How about the Urashima's and the Otohime's?"

"Not here," Yuko smiled at Keitaro. "Are you an Urashima agent?"

Keitaro cursed as he unconsciously gave her another inch.

"Yes," he said truthfully. What was the point in hiding it?

"It must be odd… suddenly finding out that your family is not an agency responsible for handling supernatural forces, nor that you are an Urashima agent," Yuko said gently. "Instead… you find yourself in a body of another you, an ex-three time ronin who finally passed Tokyo University, and injured indefinitely before he could even attend the ceremony."

"I'm guessing he also runs an all-girls dormitory?" Keitaro asked.

"You think coincidence, right?" Yuko replied. "I do not. It seems it's always the case for almost all Keitaro Urashima's in other Universes. The boy finds his first love in the Hinata-sou, a hotel turned to a girl's dorm. I call it the phenomenon as Love Hina."

Keitaro frowned as the memory of his childhood friend, and probably first love… he first met Mi-chan in Hinata-sou. Her death changed his life.

"Love Hina," he rolled those two words in his mouth.

After a moment of deliberation and thinking, he thought back on the conversation he had with this woman, Yuko, and tried to pick clues from bits of information she might have unknowingly given him…

He chuckled slightly when he studied her speaking manner and words. She was very careful with them.

"Its odd to me you know a lot about Keitaro Urashima," he then spoke.

"Picked that out of the conversation?" Yuko smile widened. "You are a smart boy. Well… this might add to your ego, but for me, the Keitaro Urashimas on most Universes are interesting beings."

Keitaro shook his head a bit, and gave a slight smile. She was right… it was rather ego inflating. But he didn't think about that, nor did he feel a slight jolt in pride.

He was still lost in a world not his… with a weak body, and absolutely different lineage. He wasn't in a world where he was an agent… just a regular person who after three years of failure, finally landed in Todai.

He studied his chances. Would he depend on the gods to find him? Can he trust Yuko's words, and wait for Laharl, if ever, to come after him? Why would it be his fault in the first place? And would wishing himself back home really destroy the universe?

So many questions, so little answers. But with those answers, he finally decided on his course of action.

He stood up.

"I thank you for your time then, Ichihara-san," Keitaro stated. "It's been… most enlightening."

"I can see," Yuko nodded. "I shall remain here for a while, if you ever need me for more questions…"

"Or wishes?" Keitaro asked with a smile.

Yuko just smiled at him.

"Just remember, there's always a price to be paid," she said.

Keitaro nodded, and slowly limped his way out, using his crutch as a support. He could feel the pain of his broken leg again when the pressure was put on it.

Yuko showed him out, and watched the young man walk away with great interest. Like almost all Keitaro Urashimas, they are interesting people, one after another.

"I will see you soon, K2," she whispered softly before walked back in her rest house.

* * *

The cold night air was chilly, especially against the hospital gown that Keitaro wore, but less so than normal, as his torso and arms were covered by bandages. But the cold was not what was bothering him. 

He might have looked slightly confident leaving that woman's presence, but he knew he was in fact, no more closer in getting home than he was leaving the hospital. At least he got answers, and with those answers, began to plan his course accordingly.

First in the line is to get to know the world he lived in much more intimately. Luckily for him, geography of this world and the other hasn't changed, so he concentrated more on the human factor. He needed to get to know the people here more to blend in.

Having the idea of the notion that he was not the Keitaro Urashima they knew would raise questions he didn't want. He thought of the problems and dangers it could present… the least would be being admitted to a mental institution; worst case scenario would be garnering attention he would not need.

The gods were after him, so would maybe a little attention may speed up their search, but threw that idea away when he remembered about Miyabi, a goddess who is also after him… more specifically, after his life. Where she was completely unknown to him, and so he decided to be low key, lest he risk getting caught by her.

His mind went back towards the scene where he met everyone else. The blonde girl, the kid he never met… he should get know her at once. He should also know the change of relationship he has with the other tenants.

Kitsune was a painful factor for him. She didn't seem to give a care about him anymore, nor did she show she had any relationship with him, other than tenant and manager… but while he could live with that, he had to keep his passion in check, and if he could, not spend any time alone with her.

_She is also… older, it seems. How odd_, Keitaro thought.

Shinobu didn't seem to be any different here, so he couldn't see any problem there.

_KU… no… she's not KU_, Keitaro had to remind himself.

Kaolla Su… he didn't know whether she was still a Molmolian princess, but since her physical attributes seemed to be the same, he could hazard a guess that she was one. But now that she isn't an agent, he wondered how to regard her…

He also briefly wondered if she was still inventing stuff.

Mutsumi… another painful factor. While she seems friendly, she acted like a big blank minded woman… which after deliberation, he knew wasn't that much different from the MT he knew. But…

He shook his head. Like Kitsune, he had to keep his passion in check, especially around her. He also noticed, like Kitsune, that she looked a bit older than he remembered.

Narusegawa… one of the odd-woman-out in this world. Unlike back home, she didn't treat him with contempt, nor viewed him as a bane of her existence. She was much nicer, treated him civilly, not because of courtesy, but because she cared. She was a tad insulted when Keitaro had addressed her formally… which means Naru and the Keitaro in this Universe seem to be close friends… maybe even lovers.

How he detested the thought.

He could say there was no love lost between him and Narusegawa of his world… he had given her chances and space to bond a sort of friendship before, but she seemed to have no memory of their earlier friendship, and treated him with loath ever since he came to Hinata-sou.

Keitaro decided then it was a lost cause, and never gave much of a thought, or another chance for the two of them to be anything other than tenant and manager.

Aoyama… the other odd-woman-out. She was still a samurai he knew, but like Narusegawa, she seemed to care for him to a certain degree. He never had much problem with Motoko, Keitaro would admit to himself. His only issue with her back home was her rather unfair and biased hatred for men.

Would this Motoko be the same? He didn't know the answer, nor would he care to do something stupid to find out.

Haruka… she isn't a U-agent, and no chance to respond with code-names. But the way she acted in the hospital showed that she doesn't act any different from H of his world. All he had to do was avoid calling her aunt.

And lastly, the last person he'd have to know is the old Keitaro Urashima. No matter how he adapts with the different people, if they have been around the former Keitaro Urashima, they'd know something would be wrong Mutsumi, Kitsune, Haruka… they were smart women... they'd know if something was different. Narusegawa too, if she was indeed very close to the Keitaro of this world..

He'd have to find some sort of diary or journal where the old Keitaro Urashima writes on. He'd have to see his room, check his clothes to get clues on how he acts. He'd also have to see the reaction of the women around him if he does anything out of character of their view of their manager.

_So much work… _Keitarothought darkly.

So, what was he supposed to do now? Get back to the hospital, get some rest? It sounded like a great idea, and he'd rather have a roof to sleep beneath and some food as well. With that thought, he slowly began to walk back towards the hospital.

"Well, well… what do we have here?"

A voice so cold, it cut the air like a knife. Keitaro knew for such a voice, it was nothing human, but someone of supernatural nature.

His heard turned right and watched with a bit of apprehension as five figures suddenly came forward. Their shadowy appearances made them much more sinister, and would have scared normal folks to an unbalance. Not Keitaro, though…

"A boy, that's what we have," another voice cut the air.

"Cute one too…"

The second spoke in a female voice. Unnaturally high, almost shrill. The young man guessed it was another theatrics to add fear to their opponents. The statement though was rather stupid.

"Yeah… hehehehe…"

"Check if anyone is around… we don't want any witnesses…"

Pale faces, red eyes, and a nice pair of fangs for each. Keitaro knew at that moment on, he should be scared… he had no gun, his leg was injured, his body wasn't trained to fight, and he was alone.

Alone with five vampires, who look hungry.

"You must really be unlucky," the first speaker stated. "We were looking for a couple of nice human girls…"

"And guys," the female vampire added with a snarl.

"Ah… yes, and human males," the first one corrected himself. "But… a solo human being… you are really unlucky."

"We're very hungry… hehehe… hehehe…" the fourth vampire cackled a bit.

"With strong _reiki_ to boot…" the fifth vampire, an older one, studied Keitaro.

"I'll take the first bite…" the female vampire muttered, and she vanished in the darkness, her presence re-appearing behind Keitaro. Her cold arm suddenly grabbed Keitaro by the neck, and pushed him closer to herself.

She expected a quick taste of his blood… a quick feel of his warmth beneath her fangs. But the only thing she felt was a blow right at her nose… while not really strong, was enough to hurt. She screamed, and moved away from her victim.

Keitaro had reacted automatically to his own training; though the feeling of his movements was so unnatural he cringed at the fact. Not to mention he was unbalanced because of the cast, the injuries under the bandages, and the crutch that he had on his arm.

"You… BASTARD!" she growled, holding her nose. "You HIT ME!"

"Well, you were hitting on me first, I thought I'd return the favor," Keitaro replied back, though unlike his usual quipping, his voice was shaking.

"I was going to just suck a bit… but you're going to die!" she growled at him. "Nobody touch him! His MINE!"

"All yours," the third vampire nodded, seemingly not caring.

The female vampire charged at him, carelessly… she was either unskilled, or overly confident. Either way, it allowed Keitaro to do some thinking and planning. He dodged her first charge, and her nails barely hit Keitaro. He tried to shift to a better position, and readied his arms as she charged in again.

He swung the crotch at full force when she came at him, blindly again, and she paid the price as the wood smacked her in the face so hard, it broke.

The force of his swing and the laws of physics probably hurt Keitaro probably more than it hurt the vampire attacking him… his wounds groaned in pain as he stretched them more than what was recommended, his cast put him off balance, and the by putting pressure on his broken leg made him fall… then add to the fact that her attack actually hit home, drawing blood from him.

Of all the things that happened… of all the pain he endured… it was the sight of his blood that bothered him the most. Vampires get off with blood, something the vampire twins taught him well during his stay at their convent, hence why all vampires are trained not to expose the blood of their victims to other vampires when they bite, as not to create competition or commotion.

If the other vampires were as hungry as they claimed, the sight of his blood would awaken their blood lust. And sure enough, the moment his blood was in the air, the other vampires slowly turned feral.

"Blood… hehehe… hehehe…"

"Blood…"

"BLOOD!"

Keitaro felt the shiver of fear for the first time in his spine as he saw the other three vampires charging in. Their fangs shone in with the moonlight, and their nails were dangerously coming close to him.

They looked like a bunch of wolves coming at him, and Keitaro couldn't do anything but watch. He wanted to move, wanted to run… but he couldn't. His body couldn't take the pain, and his leg wouldn't give him much help.

He was doomed.

"Hiken… **Zankuusen**!"

A burst of ki… a burst of hope. Motoko's voice sounded heavy, yet quite calm. Her attack sliced through the air, hitting a vampire to the neck, instantly beheading and turning him to dust.

The other two vampires stopped their charge, and looked in shock as one of their numbers fell. They could see the shadow of the samurai girl walking calmly towards them, her katana reflecting the light of the street lamps.

"Leave that man alone," she declared in a cold voice.

"You're just one swordswoman! You aren't a match for me!" the other vampire sneered, and charged at her, vanishing in the shadows.

But, Keitaro thought, it would have been wiser to listen. She knew at once when and where the vampire was going to re-appear, and ducked his attack.

"**Gurenken**…"

Her fist, infused with her ki, struck true towards the vampire's chest, stunning him there, and without any waste of time, her sword flew, and slashed the stunned vampire from his neck, killing and turning him to dust.

For the first time in his life, Keitaro watched Motoko fight, and he had to hand it to her, he was impressed. She was definitely in her element, and looked like a real samurai… but the moment was gone when he felt himself forcibly up by the last charging vampire.

"Drop your weapon, or I'll kill this human!" the vampire behind him shouted towards Motoko.

"**Zankuusen Ni no Tachi**."

_Cold… _was Keitaro's thought when her reply came swift and with almost no hesitation. The vampire behind him seemed to have frozen up before his head came off, and turned to dust, letting the young man fall down on his backside. For some reason, her ki-based attack just passed through him without harming him.

"BROTHERS!" the female vampire shouted, finally recovering from Keitaro's hit, waking him up from his stupor.

Immediately, he scanned the surrounding for the last vampire, the older one. He and the female ones were the last of the group.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!" the female vampire declared, readying her claws. Motoko seemed ready as well, grabbing her katana with two hands, positioning it in front of her.

"Sister… we leave," the older vampire suddenly appeared behind the female one, grabbing her from under her armpits, stopping her on her tracks.

"NO! I'll kill them…"

"You'll die uselessly," the older vampire replied. "We leave."

Whether or not his sister agreed was not heard as the older vampire vanished along with her. A moment of peace overcame Keitaro, and he finally seemed to release the breath that he had been holding for a moment.

"Keitaro… Keitaro, are you hurt?"

Keitaro looked at her, who looked at him worriedly. He found it odd to see that expression, especially from her.

"I'm fine… except for a broken leg, re-opened wounds, and that slash I just received," he replied in an indifferent tone.

Motoko sighed in relief.

"What were you thinking, leaving your room like that!" she scolded. "Especially this late at night; it's dangerous!"

"I don't need a lecture from you, Aoyama-san," Keitaro replied with an even tone, and suddenly regretted it when he saw her look a tad shocked.

"I'm sorry…" Keitaro mumbled after a bit. "I… I just had a bad day, Ao… Motoko, and I felt a bit desperate."

He flinched inwardly as he corrected himself. He didn't know whether if the Keitaro she knew called her that, but she seemed satisfied with his apology.

"I understand… you were injured just when you were about to…" Motoko shook her head, and didn't finish. "We've been looking for you. Everyone's been worried."

"Yeah… sorry about that," Keitaro muttered softly. "Hospital was like… suffocating me."

Motoko slowly helped him up, and gave him her shoulder to lean on.

"Thank you… Motoko… for saving me," Keitaro mumbled as he limped with her help.

"You were lucky we passed on the young vampires," Motoko stated indifferently. "Anyone, if trained properly, could have handled the situation as such."

"Now you're being modest," Keitaro laughed gently, causing Motoko to feel embarrassed.

"No, I have merely spoken the truth," she replied with a hint of annoyance.

Keitaro didn't reply as he continued to limp along beside Motoko. Silence shrouded the two, as they walked back towards the hospital, like nothing life threatening had happened earlier. Time passed unnoticed, and it wasn't long until the hospital finally came to view, along with the other girls of Hinata-sou.

They charged in towards the two, asking lots of questions. Motoko was the one who replied, while Keitaro kept silent, studying each and everyone silently, taking into account their faces, attitude, and tone.

The girls here were definitely, at core, similar to the girls back home, even if, for odd reason, some of them were actually older than he remembered. But even with that oddity, for a moment in time, Keitaro's fears and worries vanished… only to come back when he faced the notion of life's uncertainty.

Would he be found? Would he return home? Was what he had faced earlier just a prelude, a warning, of things to come?

Keitaro shook his head, and concentrated his mind on the present.

He had a lot of work ahead of him.

**To Be Continued…**

_Some notes:_

_Yggdrasil: The World Tree… though at Ah My Goddess, its portrayed as a computer that controls and/or is the Universe. Same here._

_Reiki: Spirit Energy_

_Hitsuzen: Causality. _

_Zankuusen: Air Cleaving Flash_

_Gurenken: Red Lotus Fist_

_Zankuusen Ni no Tachi: Air Cleaving Flash, Second Cut_

_Other notes:_

_Laharl mentioned Yuko's name at the Crimson Daylights (Chapter 08)_

_Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Ja ne!_


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

**05 - **_Imitation of Normality  
_

* * *

"Laharl…"

His purple hair with blonde strands moved as he turned his head towards KU, who had finally arrived from Hinata-sou. He gave her a slight smile.

"KU… how's everything?" he asked.

She gave a jovial smile.

"It's okay! Me and Shinomu convinced everyone at the Inn that Keitaro suddenly had urgent business to attend to," KU looked towards the lying Keitaro in the center of the room, and looked at the monitors.

"All his vital signs are normal, but his brain waves are down," Laharl muttered.

"Kinda like in a coma, eh?" KU poked Keitaro slightly.

"Yeah… you do know there was a theory that states a comatose patient is a person whose soul has temporarily left their body?" Laharl smiled a bit. "Of course, the vast difference between a soul-less body and a comatose patient is the absence spiritual energy… chi or reiki… whatever they call it nowadays."

KU nodded, and smiled as she brought down the large carrying case she had, and opened it, revealing a camera, and some machines that seemed to be some sort of scanners.

"So… what's the plan?" KU asked.

The door suddenly opened before Laharl could reply, revealing Nitasha, who suddenly spotted Laharl and KU on the bed, and immediately went suspicious.

"Hey… what are you doing here, and who is she!?" she demanded, her hand glowing.

"Nitasha… meet KU, a U-Agent working with K2," Laharl replied, acting like she wasn't going to attack. "KU, meet Nitasha… K2's real partner in the rescue mission."

"Hi!" KU greeted with her childish smile.

"What is she doing here?" Nitasha asked. The goddess still looked suspicious but dispersed the energy on her hand.

"Checking his body, and see if we can get any clues. Mana, reiki, marks or anything that might give us an indication where K2 might be," Laharl said.

"The gods are narrowing down the uni… uh… places, already," Nitasha looked towards KU, who seemed to start scanning Keitaro with a handheld tool. "And besides… you can ask me to check on stuff like that. You wouldn't need to use faulty human technology."

"No offense… but having a massive search party wastes more time and resources than looking for clues… and I trust KU and her machines more than anyone when it comes to checking on K2," Laharl replied evenly. He looked at her. "Got anything new on Miyabi?"

Nitasha looked rather annoyed when Miyabi's name came up.

"Yes… we found the technician that was using the Yggdrasil to help her," Nitasha replied. "We're interrogating him now."

"Show me the way, would ya?" Laharl stated, grabbing Nitasha by the arms, and slowly dragged her out of the room.

"B… but its in heaven!" Nitasha stated. "They are not going to let some demon hybrid enter! Besides… I need to stay…"

Laharl didn't listen, and dragged the goddess out, leaving KU in the room, smiling slightly at his antics. She always liked to work without anyone on her back, and he was quite considerate.

"Oh well… you really do know how to show a woman a good time, eh K2?" KU joked with a smile as she continued to scan him with her hand-held tool.

* * *

There was no wind, no feel of gravity as Keitaro floated in the air in a steady direction. The endless blue sky and white clouds surrounded him, and for the first time in weeks, he felt relaxed. 

"I haven't seen you in a while," Keitaro mumbled towards the woman with flowing blue hair, and black battle dress. She was floating right in front of him.

"It's because you've been rather occupied," she replied with a slight smile.

Keitaro looked around slowly, and tried to gauge what position he was in today. The woman must have noticed his roaming eyes, and giggled slightly, turning Keitaro's attention back to her.

"What?"

"Nothing… it just seems odd that you're looking around now," she replied, still giggling a bit. "Before… your eyes were just on me. Have my looks lost its hold on you?"

"Oh, not that," Keitaro answered easily. "Last time we talked… my head was on your lap. And what made it more amazing, I wasn't doing anything perverted that time."

Her laugh was soft, tender and honest.

"Would you have wanted to?" she asked.

"At that time… no," Keitaro replied truthfully. "I… I was rather afraid if I ever moved… I'd suddenly wake up. Like now."

"That would be true if you were dreaming," the woman smiled.

Keitaro's mind went aflame with that statement. He wasn't dreaming?

"I'm not dreaming?" he asked, unsure.

"You aren't," the woman replied, nodding her head gently.

"But… I'm not awake, am I?"

The woman's smile got slightly bigger, and she slowly approached him, her hands stretched out.

"Not yet," she answered. "Reach me…"

Keitaro felt the instinct to stretch his arms out, but he forced himself not to. Even if it might be true that he was not dreaming, he was afraid that if he moved, he'd get himself away from this woman who he found to be quite interesting.

"Trust me…"

Her voice was sincere… so sincere that he felt that she could trust her. How odd, especially for Keitaro, who never trusted easily. She was a complete stranger to him… he didn't know who she was, and where she came from. He didn't know where he was, or why he was alone with her…

There are so many questions that popped in his head. Questions he didn't know whether would be answered or not. The whole thing was as reasonable as the notion of what's good and evil… but when it came down to this one thing, Keitaro didn't listen to his agent side; the side of his mind telling him not to trust her… not to listen to her.

Their fingers entwined together, the feeling of her warmth was a surprise to him. Her smile was tender, and her clasp was strong… not strong enough to hurt, but firm enough to show that she had no malice.

They floated like this for a minute or so… Keitaro didn't know exactly how long because time didn't seem to pass him anymore. For the first time, ever since his arrival to this universe he was in, he felt no worries…

He felt free.

"How do you feel?" the woman asked after a moment.

"Better," Keitaro replied. "The past few weeks… they were… exhausting."

Twenty days, to be exact. Keitaro's mind had been working overtime, taking the details of each of the girl's personality and the way they acted around him. In turn he also slowly began to curb his act and name calling around them…

Everyday was a test of right minus wrong. He cannot make a lot of mistakes, because every time he slips, they would begin to suspect. But without making such mistakes, he can't gauge how the old Keitaro would act.

His aunt in this Universe wasn't much help, and rarely visited. He would have asked her to bring him his journals or anything that would give him clues, but she just said to continue writing in pieces of paper and just put them in his journal. Keitaro couldn't ask the other girls because deep inside, he still didn't trust them.

"You're off to outer space again, Kei-kun…"

The young man blinked, and looked towards the woman who was still holding on his hand. He gave her a small smile.

"I am."

"Are you worried?" she asked.

"About the future?"

She nodded.

"All the time," Keitaro replied.

He didn't move when the woman closed into him, her body emitting warmth as she held on him. Keitaro didn't move… he just couldn't. Everything was getting brighter, and he knew, he was about to awaken.

"I'm about to leave," he muttered.

"I know…" she replied. "Kei-kun… no matter what happens, no matter where your heart and mind go… always remember… I'm with you… always…"

Keitaro closed his eyes as the brightness became overwhelming. Her warmth was still felt as the whole world he was currently in began to fade away. He wanted to ask her one more time for her name, but his lips wouldn't move.

Everything went to nothingness.

* * *

Keitaro wondered if he was given a gift to be surrounded by girls. From getting a faux job as a manager for an all girl's dormitory (which coincidentally, the Keitaro of this world also has the same job), having dreams of a beautiful woman, not to mention having fought two female neko lycan twins and fighting, killing and sleeping with female vampires to waking up and finding another familiar female looking at him. 

Mutsumi… how could he describe her with the sun lightening her complexion? She always looked beautiful to him, and had that mature feeling about her, whether she was the Mutsumi of this world, or MT from his.

"Oh… morning Mu-ch…tsumi-san," Keitaro caught himself again.

"Keitaro-kun," Mutsumi greeted back. "Good morning…"

"What are you doing here?" Keitaro asked. "You do have class, right?"

"In thirty minutes…" Mutsumi looked away for a moment, unsure what to say next. "I had to come here and visit."

Keitaro tried hard not to grin.

"You didn't have to come here, Mutsumi-san," Keitaro said gently. "I'm about to be released. You could always visit me after school at Hinata-sou… much convenient for your time."

She smiled.

"I know… but… I couldn't resist waking you," she stated. "Every time you see me… your eyes look at me like you haven't seen me in years."

"Maybe it's just the sun," Keitaro suggested.

"You know what I mean, Keitaro-kun," Mutsumi replied.

Yes… he knew what she meant. Mutsumi was very observant, and quite astute… just like MT back home. And she seemed to also know Keitaro a lot, and was quick to notice the difference in the way he acted now from before.

Before he could come up with another denial, Mutsumi saved him the trouble by standing up.

"I have to go," Mutsumi said, not sounding like she wanted to.

Her eyes would never leave his, as if mesmerized by his brown orbs, trying to understand them as much as possible. She barely even looked at the watch to see what time it was. And when she did, she grinned in a silly manner.

"Ara… I really have to go… later, Keitaro-kun! I'll visit you later at Hinata-sou!"

"Bye…" he whispered, waving towards the woman who waved back at him as she closed the door. "Bye… Mu-chan…"

How hard he resisted not to talk sweet nothings to her! How hard it was trying not to look depressed that the Mutsumi here isn't the MT he knew! All these feelings, Keitaro had kept locked in his heart, and would gladly do so until he returned back to his world.

_But… I can't keep going like this… _Keitaro thought darkly.

He wished the gods would find him quickly. He wished Laharl would… he wished he could just return home. But after the slight moment of hesitation, he steeled his will. He took deep breathes.

In hours time, the doctor would come back and clear him. Then, he'd take the train home, where he'll go at once to the Manager's room, and get to reading whatever the old Keitaro left as a journal. He had to know how the Keitaro of this world worked.

* * *

Keitaro arrived in this world's Hinata-sou at April 21, during the afternoon, where he had guessed, would most likely be empty. The tenants should be in their classes. His aunt was at the tea house, which he passed earlier just to greet her, and made his way up on the long winding stairs. 

His leg was still in a cast, but hurt less when placed in pressure. On both sides of his arm were crutches, though instead being made of wood, settled for something sturdier, like aluminum. You never know when you find yourself fighting vampires and need a nice weapon to bash their faces in.

Keitaro was about to move in when he spotted a turtle on the ground, waving its big paddle arms at him. For a moment, Keitaro's mind went blank when he saw Tama-chan. He chuckled, and shook his head.

"Unbelievable," he whispered. "Even here… Keitaro gets a turtle…"

He wondered briefly if Tama-chan was a Hot Spring Divine Turtle, but was not tempted to try and hit her with his crutch. He'd either hurt the turtle or damage his aid, both options were unwelcome. He liked Tama-chan, and needed his crutch.

"Oh no…!"

Keitaro suddenly looked up as the front door slid open. He was wrong… it seemed there were still people in Hinata-sou. Naru came out, looking a bit disheveled, but hid it as she straightened herself up, and exited towards the grounds.

"Can't make it to the third period… what do I…" she suddenly spotted Keitaro on the grounds, who smiled, rather nervously at her, and waved. "Keitaro!"

"Hey Naru-san," Keitaro greeted. "You better hurry if you wanna catch up in class."

Naru cringed.

"Yeah…" Naru started to walk briskly towards the stairs.

Keitaro watched her leave without much thought. He liked it better this way… he could keep things impersonal between them for a bit, which was something he didn't need to fake. Though… what he did need to think about were reasons to not be around her.

"Still haven't attended classes at Tokyo U?" a voice suddenly called.

Keitaro turned around, and spotted Kitsune sitting in one of the rocks at the grounds, wearing a nice sleeveless shirt and that exposed her long slender arms and neck, and shorts that revealed her long, well formed legs. She had that foxy expression on her face, and carried a beer can in her hand.

"Nope…" Keitaro smiled slightly. "Isn't it a bit early to drink?"

"It's never too early to drink," Kitsune replied as she took a swig on her can.

Keitaro chuckled.

"Kitsune, can I j…" Keitaro stopped right there. He mentally cursed. "I mean… I'm gonna be in my room for a while…"

Kitsune looked at him oddly, her lips touching the can.

"Sure…" she mumbled.

Keitaro smiled, and walked away before he would make a mistake… probably. Did the Keitaro of this world have drinks with Kitsune like he did back home?

Keitaro opened the door, and went in, looking at the interior of Hinata-sou. His early evaluation of the place was it wasn't really any different from where he came from. The place looked old, yet magnificently kept well and cleaned… though after a good while, after roaming around a bit, he spotted one difference between this Hinata-sou to the one back home.

For some reason, some of the walls, and at times, floors and ceilings were newly fixed. The wood in some of those areas were remarkably new… a few months ago, most probably. It was like this dormitory always seemed to be repaired. Keitaro could only guess that it was either suffering from the worst case of termites he'd ever seen, or someone's been using this dorm as a war place.

Well, termites or no, Keitaro had to admit this place was worse for wear than back at his home… though once he thought about it, it made sense. Hinata-sou in his world housed the Stone of Dreams, and was a property of the U-Agency. Did this dorm house anything? Does it have anything supernatural in its sleeves? K2 would never know, and most likely, the Keitaro in this world didn't as well.

He slid the door open, and went in. He shut the door behind him, and looked at the manager's room for a moment.

First thing Keitaro saw was a mess of test books for Tokyo University. The next he saw nothing else which struck him as odd… it wasn't a place neatly stacked nor was it a complete garbage dump. The word which popped out of his mind was 'average'.

_Well… time to get to work._

* * *

Five days passed. Keitaro was amazed at all the material he had gathered just from those five days. 

He sat on the ground, and in front of him were three things that K2 found most useful when trying to delve in the mind of Keitaro Urashima. There was a photo sticker album, a sketch book, and the journal he just found two days ago.

The journal, much to K2's surprise, was under one of the drawers, well hidden by an extra piece of wood. It seems like Keitaro didn't want anyone reading it because it contained very detailed accounts on Keitaro's present life and thoughts. K2 found great interest in reading it for the past two days.

The photo sticker album revealed a lot about Keitaro's early life. From his pose, his smile, and his lone figure in almost every sticker, K2 knew that the Keitaro here was a sort of loner. It would mean a lot of things, and almost nothing substantial, but still good evidence… though the sticker of Keitaro together with Naru that represented a change in his lonely lifestyle.

Suffice to say, K2 knew Keitaro had fallen for this girl.

The sketch book proved his theory more, though it held some nice insights as well. The first half of the book was filled with drawings of different women in multiple stages of, if not totally, undress.

The next half, probably at the start of the time the Keitaro of this world began to live here, were now drawings of the tenants, each drawn as Keitaro seemed to view them. K2 laughed.

The first drawings of Motoko were inspired by western witches… in those drawings, she wore big black pointy hats, with matching black cape. She also had a big nodachi in her hand, and looked menacing. Kendo witch was the first name that popped in his head. In the end though… her images were looking much more normal, and in different clothing; though there was an unfinished 'naked' Motoko sketch here.

Narusegawa's first few drawings were like Motoko's, but there was a noticeable difference. There were less 'Demon Naru' drawings then 'Kendo Witch Motoko' drawings. Her normal images though were done softly, and Keitaro put a lot of effort in them. There was one finished 'naked' Naru drawing here though… and it was quite accurate in K2's opinion.

Shinobu was drawn as well… though most of them were pretty normal. Not anything special, but was still drawn with effort.

Su's drawings were very different. There was normal Su, demon Su, Su riding a bit metallic turtle (K2 read the name Mecha-Tama on it) and there was 'mad scientist' Su. It seems that Kaolla here isn't much different from KU back home when it comes to inventions.

Kitsune's though got him to laugh. Seems Keitaro knew how to draw furry characters. Kitsune was… a kitsune. She had fox ears, fox tail, and different stages of furriness. Some were clothed… some were naked, but since she was covered in fur on those, it wasn't strictly an erotic drawing.

"Oooh, cute… that's how you see me, eh?"

Keitaro suddenly closed the sketch book, his heart jumped slightly. He turned and looked towards Kitsune, who had a small sake bottle on her hand, smiling at him.

She must have entered as he concentrated on the sketch book.

"Kitsune…" Keitaro greeted rather calmly. "What's wrong?"

Kitsune gave him a studied look, and he found himself slightly uncomfortable in her gaze. After a moment, she let up, and moved slightly away, taking a swig at her bottle.

"I should ask you that," Kitsune replied. She sat down on the floor, and gave him a small frown. "Everyone's been talking about you."

"Why?" Keitaro asked.

"You've been acting really strange," Kitsune stated. "You seem to try acting like something's not bothering you…"

"Nothing's bothering me… really…" Keitaro smiled nervously.

"Yes there is," Kitsune gave him a frown. "See? Even now, its like you're forcing yourself to act normal… but we can all see it's not the case.

"We've lived together for what… a year or so already?" Kitsune paused. "You may have been one of the weirdest guys I ever met… but you always backed into a pattern which some of us recognize… and we know you're forcing yourself."

She plopped beside him, and her arms suddenly went around Keitaro who nervously tried to free himself. She smiled, and put her head on his shoulders, and whispered in it seductively.

"So… tell your big sister everything that's bothering you."

K2 couldn't help but grin at her actions. He shook his head, relaxed a moment. His mind looked back at Keitaro's journal and remembered some notes about Kitsune and formulated a very risky plan… a plan, Keitaro hoped, would pay off.

Screw acting like the old Keitaro… if everyone were talking about him because he seemed to be acting too hard to be 'normal' (for K2, it means acting like Keitaro) as Kitsune claimed, then he had to act as close as he normally does. Of course, acting as himself would get the tenants more suspicious… but if K2 could only establish a reason… a valid and obvious reason… he could play Keitaro a bit out of character without really garnering their attention.

"Since when did you become my big sister?" Keitaro asked, still relaxed. He finally got a plan.

"Since when did get comfortable around me?" Kitsune countered.

"Come on, Kitsune," he replied easily. "Its not the first time you let me feel you…"

Kitsune giggled a bit.

"True," she replied. "But in all those times, you were like a jittery bug. Nervous, shaky, bleeding through your nose… but not anymore."

Keitaro gave a low sigh, and looked a bit down for a moment. Kitsune seemed to have noticed his change, and scooted slightly closer, seemingly interested in hearing what he had to say.

He mentally celebrated. He got her on the hook, and slowly reeling her in.

"Kitsune… have you… have you ever been disappointed?" Keitaro asked.

"We've all been disappointed," Kitsune replied easily.

"Ever failed the entrance test multiple times, and when you finally got into your dream University… you get injured before you even got to attend the welcoming ceremony?"

Kitsune laughed nervously as she took another swing at her bottle.

"No… not really…" she muttered in a low tone.

Kitsune shifted uncomfortably around Keitaro, who didn't move from his current position. His head was down, and gave an aura of a depressed person. The woman didn't know what to say… and took another swig.

"Is that why you ran from the hospital?" she asked quietly.

"It… it was more than that," Keitaro replied.

Kitsune watched as the young man she met a year ago seemed to show something other than either complete utter idiotic happiness or comical depression. His head came up slightly, and she saw his eyes glittered with tears that he seemed to force back in.

"I… I don't know…" he muttered in a low tone. "I… I just realized how badly my life went.

"No girlfriend for 20 years, no dates… I'm clumsy, I'm easily terrified… I devoted all my life into going to Tokyo U, and got kicked out of my house because I always believed I'd get there in the end…" Keitaro gave another sigh. "Well… guess what? I made it… and missed it by just a few meters. My life is grand… put that in a story, and people would love it."

Kitsune didn't say much, but listened to him without comment. She gave a sad sort of smile, and patted Keitaro gently on his shoulder. There were a lot of times when she, along with the tenants of Hinata-sou, had assumed Keitaro was going to kill himself, only to be proven wrong… but… would he actually contemplate killing himself now? He did look very depressed.

"So… you don't mind if I do sell your life's story to people?" Kitsune joked gently, proding a bit to see how badly Keitaro was… but when she saw his reaction, she knew he was okay. Keitaro seemed to appreciated the joke. He smiled, which relieved Kitsune.

"If it will make you ask less favors from me… sure," he replied.

"And what would be the fun in that?" Kitsune giggled and hugged Keitaro a bit closer. The man tried to move away unsuccessfully.

"Come on Kitsune… stop teasing me…" Keitaro mumbled, trying to move away, when suddenly, his body seemed to suddenly freeze in mid-movement.

Kitsune, who had been resisting Keitaro's futile movements to get away from her, pushed at the moment Keitaro seemed to freeze, and pinned him down on the ground. Her mind went blank when she felt her chest hit his and her lips were at his neck.

"Ouch… sorry about that Keita…" she whispered the last part of his name inaudibly as her eyes went to his.

Kitsune knew how to judge her men… she knew that Keitaro had a very big soft spot for her best friend, Naru… but… his eyes. His eyes seemed to tell her a different story.

There was lust… and there was this; the expression of love… not pure love, but something of intimacy. Keitaro's eyes bore to hers gently, caring, and sad. They were so inviting and warm, she didn't move in minute's time, mesmerized by his brown orbs.

She removed his spectacles, and gently placed one caressing hand on his cheek.

Keitaro was beside himself, though not in anger… but in shock. He felt her warmth on top of him… and the only thing that separated them were a few centimeters of clothing. Her lips were just above his, and if he raised his head, he could finally taste her again.

By God, how he wanted to...

"K… Kitsune…"

His whisper woke the woman up from her stupor. She suddenly extracted herself away from him, and laughed nervously.

"I'll… I'll be going now…" she said softly, and stood up towards the door.

Keitaro sat up, and put his glasses back to place. He watched the woman slide the door of his room open, and seemed to wait a good moment or two, before she took a step out. She looked back at him, and smiled nervously.

"Dinner's gone be ready soon," Kitsune said. "So… don't be a stranger, okay?"

She slid the door shut, and placed her hands on her cheeks, feeling her blush. She didn't know what came over her… but for the first time in her life, she found a man who didn't just look at her with lustful eyes. And it was Keitaro, of all people!

She had to admit, she was the first to notice the difference the way Keitaro acted ever since he came to the hospital. Calling Mutsumi with a very intimate 'Mu-chan'? Suddenly acting a bit aloof towards Naru? It was something worth taking a look at!

What she got shown in return was something that she never expected…

_I didn't know he felt that bad… _Kitsune thought for a moment. Then… her blush made itself known once again when she remembered the way his eyes looked into hers.

_Gonna keep that quiet… _she added in the end. She wasn't going to be in the teasing end of this… She was the teaser, not the tease-ee!

With that in mind, she went down and waited for dinner, while taking another swig at her sake bottle.

* * *

Keitaro touched his cheek gently, and gave a heavy sigh. 

That wasn't part of his plan…

He had thought that making himself into a wounded dog, the tenants around would not perceive his slight changes in attitude to be that strange… and it worked somewhat. Kitsune seemed convinced by his acting, and even emphasized a bit.

But… his body suddenly freezing was something he had not expected… nor was the turn-out and that bothered him. What exactly happened that time? He didn't feel any pain or anything wrong… he just froze up… and because of that, he felt her so close to him again.

He shivered. He wanted to taste her. He wanted to feel her.

He wanted to go home.

**To Be Continued…**

_Don't ask me what's with the fast updates… I'm in the writing mood for K2. Looks like my SIA Documentary will have to wait. _

_Oh… and I'm also writing a small draft for my 'Beginning of Keitaro Urashima'… a one shot on how Keitaro turned to K2 we know. _


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

**06 - **_Decieving a__ Warrior_

* * *

_... and there I was. Stranded in the island, clutching notes of all the tenants who all wished me luck. I let them down. I let myself down. I had one chance to get to Tokyo U… I promise Naru I'd make it with her… but here I was… under the hot blazing sun. _

_I thought everything was over until I was almost run over by Seta's van. It seems…_

* * *

Keitaro chuckled as he closed the book. 

The pungent smell of disinfectant matched perfectly with the white walls of the hospital hall. K2 had been there for a good hour, reading on Keitaro's journal to help him along dealing in this world… he found it very funny that Seta of this world and of his were not all particularly different.

His last encounter with Kitsune was a success of his plan, and it seems for the past few days, the tenants have more or less accepted his slightly eccentric (to them) act. Keitaro could now move more freely around them, and be more at ease, though he significantly kept trying to avoid Kitsune and Mutsumi, especially if he was alone.

The latter had kept visiting, and was quite friendly to Keitaro, and never pushy… but the young man knew she was not there as a friend. She was slowly trying to get together with him, much to Naru's understandable jealousy… but Mutsumi here was smart. She went for the really slow and subtle approach as not to garner any potential showdowns between the two at this early stage.

And because of Mutsumi's actions, Naru has now continually avoided Keitaro especially when she's around. While this was a welcoming change, the price was rather high. Kitsune was now looking for ways to seemingly separate Mutsumi and him, and Motoko kept an awful close eye on both, citing it was 'protection' for the anemic girl.

Anemic… how odd, Keitaro would think after reading the journal's description of Mutsumi, but like a job, he readily accepted it with a stride, knowing full well this isn't his world, and no matter how he would complain, it wouldn't change for him.

"The doctor will see you now…" a female voice called from the door in front of him.

Keitaro stood up, and nodded. He had come to the general hospital to have a check-up, though not only for his legs.

For the past few days, he noticed there would be times he'd suddenly freeze up for absolutely no reason. It had happened first during his conversation with Kitsune, where his freezing act had caught the woman unawares, and landed them both on a rather embarrassing situation. She never spoke of it again, thank goodness, but the memory seemed to stay with her. Her eyes kept trying to catch with his for the past few days.

Keitaro entered the doctor's room, and greeted the elderly man with a small smile.

"Good morning, Mr. Urashima," the doctor greeted. "How's everything?"

"Fine," Keitaro replied, still thinking if he should bring the problem of him freezing up at times.

In the end… he didn't bother.

* * *

The sun was bright on the afternoon. Keitaro had walked out of the hospital grounds using his aluminum crutches as aid for his broken and cased leg. His thoughts were heavy on, briefly wondering if he should have brought up his mild freezing condition. 

It might not have been neurological since his movements were not hampered in anyway… but then again, he is no medical doctor. It could have been anything… and it could have been nothing.

He knew he was risking a rather lot by not getting any professional opinion for his condition, but once he thought about it, it was a good move, especially since he was still trying to stave off suspicion. There was already a lot of tension going on in the dormitory without his medical problems adding to it.

Keitaro walked back home, and was surprised to see Naru. She wore a plain brown shirt with matching pleated skirt that almost reached her ankles. Her eyes behind those rather large circular glasses went wide with surprise.

"Hey…" she greeted in a low tone.

"Hey Naru-san," Keitaro greeted back with a slight smile.

"Long time no see eh?" she asked.

"Happens when you avoid people," Keitaro replied well naturedly. She had the decency to blush, but didn't pursue the subject. "I just came from the hospital. Had a slight check-up."

"About your leg?" Keitaro nodded. "How long until they'll take the cast out?"

"About two to three weeks," Keitaro replied truthfully.

Naru smiled, slightly looking at the cast.

"It won't be long before you finally get to Tokyo U, eh?"

"Yup. What are you doing here?" he asked.

Naru took a moment to compose her thoughts, and looked towards the group of people behind her. One of them called her name, and she waved back. Keitaro looked at her with a curious glance, his eyes seemingly asking a silent question which Naru understood and replied.

"I'm going to Kyoto for a few days," Naru replied. "I've joined a discussion group and we're going to have our general assembly."

Keitaro smiled. "How long?"

"Three days and two nights."

"I'll pass the message to Shinobu, unless you told her already," Keitaro paused for a moment, and looked towards Naru. His eyes smiled slightly with his face, and he gave her a friendly nod. "Take care of yourself Naru. And… I think you ought to go now before you miss the train."

Naru nodded, and turned, dashing towards her group. At the last minute, she looked back towards Keitaro, and gave a slight wave, before she finally joined the group, and they slowly disappeared in the crowd going into the train station.

Keitaro thought for a moment what life would be in Hinata-sou without Naru. He was quite sure the tension would lessen, as Naru tended to have some sort of pull around the dorm, and around the tenants. Kitsune is Naru's best friend… and for Mutsumi, she is a friend as well. Motoko and Naru share a similar view about men around the dorm while Shinobu looks up at Naru as an older sister. Su… well, she's too eccentric to even be pulled anywhere without her consent.

The street wasn't too busy and there were not much people around, which is probably why Keitaro suddenly noticed a particular woman. She was the odd one out, as one would say, walking around the streets with a hakama and a straw hat. She also held a long blade.

At first impression, the young man thought it might be Motoko, but he noticed the woman was slightly taller, and walked differently than her. Keitaro also noticed, slightly quicker though, difference in the hips and size of the woman's breasts compared to Motoko. The last bit he studied was her long black hair… this woman took care of hers better than his tenant as it shone radiantly.

By the time Keitaro concluded that the woman was not one of his tenants, she had already passed by. She had the slight scent of perfume, not very strong, but quite subtle enough to catch his attention… and as he looked back at her, he noticed every other man she passed by looked twice. He chuckled silently, and shook his head.

A woman like that would probably be married… or not interested for a relationship. The way she walked lacked sensuality or warmth; her gaze wasn't low, just hidden in the straw hat, and the way she held her long sword with a steady grip on her hand showed she was not someone to mess with… but Keitaro couldn't blame for men looking at her way.

Like Mutsumi, she gave an aura of a mature woman, and usually, it is an allure that would affect many younger men… Keitaro included, though not as much because of his… escapades. The thrill of having an older woman teach you was one of the fantasies of regular young men… and change as they get older. At a certain point… they'd want a younger woman to teach on.

There was a slight noise along the streets. Keitaro's ears were quick to pick it up, and his eyes darted towards the sound. A big box of metal was dashing towards him at full speed… the driver seemed out of it, and with his expression, Keitaro could almost smell the imaginary alcohol in the air. The black tires were spinning fast, and the thread couldn't be seen on detail.

He might have been traveling a good eighty… speeds quite lethal especially in such mass. Keitaro quickened his pace, get to the other side, and report to the police… but suddenly, his body disobeyed him.

Keitaro's eyes widened suddenly. He regretted a bit now that he didn't bring this up to his doctors… but now was not the time to get angry at himself. He gritted his teeth, and thought hard in trying to order his body to move, but no avail.

Keitaro wondered if he was fated to die like this. He could have been done in by the neko-lycans… the vampires… heck, a bullet shot by the Golden Maiden's army… but a speeding truck? Incomprehensible!

Death didn't come for him… and he welcomed the absence, along with a sudden strong ki coming from right behind him. He saw the shiny blade on his side coming upwards, its surface reflecting the sunlight, slightly glaring him… but the movement was fast… too fast that he didn't even know what he was staring at until it stopped as it pointed upwards.

The attack was devastating. From what he witnessed, the blade directed the direction of the ki blast, and sliced through the truck cleanly in half. Physics took its course, and the truck split, and moved on both sides of Keitaro, and exploded once the two parts came behind him.

_Zanmaken… _Keitaro thought.

He turned, and looked towards the woman who was sheathing her long sword. She then held her straw hat.

A moment later… a beautiful exotic bird squawked, and perched on her shoulder. He looked at her for a moment as she raised her head, lifting the straw veil off her eyes.

Her cheeks were smooth and spotless. She had a heart shaped face, and her lips were nice and sensual. There was a dab of lipstick in them, and her eyes were had a touch of eyeliner, but all in all, her make up was very minimal, and Keitaro thought it was such a good decision. She was very beautiful, and she knew it. She didn't need cover up anything, but used small amounts of cosmetics to highlight her features.

Her smile was warm, but very professional. Her expression was not someone who just halved a truck in half… her form was rigid, yet flexible, ready to strike again at moment's notice. Keitaro felt a sort of fear emanating in the back of his head as he looked at this woman. He shook it out of his system before it could show on his face.

"Excuse me, mister…" she asked, her eyes opening, and looking straight at his. "Do you know where Hinata-sou is?"

* * *

The moment Keitaro brought the woman to Hinata-sou caused a sensation never matched in his eyes. The one who came close was Narusegawa of his world, where she protested vehemently at his appearance and stay, and almost tried to punch him. 

Kitsune's mouth was agape. Shinobu looked like someone slapped her emotionally. Sarah (yes, Keitaro got her name a few days ago. She was actually Seta's adopted daughter, and hates him) did a very accurate description of a goldfish sucking in water. Su didn't particularly care.

After some explanations (Keitaro was cornered by the tenants) which Kitsune did most of the questioning (ranging from serious to downright silly), the girls bade the woman the warm Hinata-sou welcome.

"So you're Motoko's sister eh?" Kitsune asked, studying the woman.

"I'll get some tea," Shinobu stated, going towards the kitchen at once.

The kids just let Kitsune do the interview while Keitaro just sat on the third couch facing the two women who seemed to engage in small talk naturally. It seems the woman had come here from Kyoto to discuss something of importance with Motoko (who was probably on her way home). She wouldn't say what was important, and was quite close lipped about even after numerous attempts done by Kitsune to extract the information.

She just accepted the fact that Tsuruko (she introduced herself to Keitaro, who introduced her to everyone else) was not going to speak about her interest with Motoko, and left it at that. But the two continued to talk with a different subject.

It wasn't long until Motoko had finally arrived. And judging by her sudden horrid shocked expression, she didn't seem glad to see her sister. Everyone stared incredulously as the teen who always kept an image of a noble samurai took multiple steps back, tripping on the floor, and hitting the wall behind her in a second flat.

A small part of Keitaro found her action a bit comedic. Another part found it a bit fearful.

Whether he'd admit to or not, Keitaro knew that she is one of most skilled tenants in Hinata-sou. She had sword and unarmed skills, not to mention she was also trained to take care of supernatural creatures… it was in her family line. No amount of her bias against men could discount those facts.

If she was this deathly afraid of her sister… how much more skilled would the woman be? He'd rather not find out… especially when the answer is short of fighting her.

"Sister!" Motoko's voice was strained. She didn't seem to speak… but spat out words without thought. "W… what… I mean… you… here…"

Keitaro swallowed his laughter. It was rude to laugh out like that, but her face was so shocked and scared, it was a very new experience for him.

"Kami… she's lost it…" Kitsune whispered.

"Her tongue… or her wits?" Keitaro asked.

"Both!"

Kitsune sat beside Keitaro for a moment, and both watched the spectacle continue right in front of them. The kid Sarah also joined in, along with Shinobu and Su. Tama-chan went towards the bird beside Tsuruko.

"Si… sister, what are you doing here?" Motoko finally got out. She was still keeping an arm's reach away from the woman.

"As agreed… I've come to take you back," Tsuruko declared.

Her words took time to sink, but when they did, Keitaro looked at Motoko with surprise. And judging by the looks of the other tenants' faces, it seems they have not expected it either.

Questions suddenly popped up, but no one could even find their tongue to ask them. The only thing came out of their mouths was a loud "WHAT!" which Tsuruko ignored completely. She stood up, and walked towards the still stunned Motoko with the same professional smile she wore.

"Based on our agreement… it's your time to take the dojo," she stated.

"B… but… the assignment…" Motoko looked around unsurely. "It… its not arrived yet… has it?"

The last part of her question got a very wicked smile from Tsuruko. Keitaro's stomach turned rather queasy at the site, and he wasn't the only one. Motoko looked like she was punched through the wall. In a blink of an eye… the older woman's hand suddenly went towards Motoko's and without much effort, began to drag her away.

"Let's go…"

"No!! Sister! Wait!" Motoko tried unsuccessfully to release her sister's grip. "Wait a minute!"

Keitaro and the others watched with morbid fascination as Motoko's usually calm act turned a complete 180. She looked like a kid being dragged away from her favorite candy stand, and it wasn't exactly a pretty sight.

Keitaro would have thought it was funny, if the situation wasn't confusing at best.

"Uh… Isn't it a bit rushed?" he had to ask. "You guys didn't even pack her clothes."

But his inquiries were ignored, and the older woman just continued to drag Motoko away. The tenant looked at everyone desperately, and her eyes were scrunched closed, probably thinking of an idea.

Her eyes opened. She stared hard at Keitaro, which gave him some sort of dread. What did she have in mind now?

"Sister… wait! I have something important to announce!" Motoko declared. "Very important! It concerns my taking of the dojo!"

Tsuruko looked at her sister, intrigued, and let go of her grip. She gave a slight nod, and slowly went back to the couches. She watched as Motoko went up, and goes towards Keitaro, who suddenly felt his gut instinct right telling him something was going to go wrong.

"And what is this important announcement, my sister?" Tsuruko asked.

Keitaro watched as Motoko looked at her sister, and briefly towards him. Her arms suddenly went to his, and before he could even move, he found himself clasped together with her.

"Keitaro and I… are engaged to be married!"

The stupefied look on everyone's face was antagonized by Keitaro's own shocked face. He suddenly wished he had his gun. What was the damn girl thinking!?

"Ah… then I won't have to bring you back," Tsuruko declared with a thumbs-up. "Congratulations my dear sister!"

Keitaro couldn't take it anymore. Pinching Motoko a bit, getting her attention, he gave a very fake smile towards Shinobu.

"Shinobu… please get our guest some tea," Keitaro muttered in a cold kind of way that got the shy teen out of her stupor.

"Huh…?" she asked.

"Please… get some tea," Keitaro looked towards Motoko seriously. "Motoko and I need to talk."

* * *

"Are you out of your mind!?" Keitaro demanded in a whisper. 

Kitsune, Su, and Sarah joined in with the new 'couple' while Shinobu entertained (distracted is a better term) Tsuruko for a while.

"Please…" Motoko begged. "Play along with me… and you guys too!"

"This is very unusual," Kitsune stated, her hands on her chin. "What's going on?"

"The day comes when I have to take over the dojo… but…" Motoko looked at the ground with a defeated face. "I… I'm not good yet at all!"

"Then tell her that!" Keitaro muttered, and almost moved away.

Motoko grabbed the back of his shirt hard before he could go anywhere, hurting him.

"Ouch… what the hell…"

"Please… please…" Motoko begged towards Keitaro. "Just pretend with me until she leaves. If I marry, or supposed to, I don't get the dojo… and when I'm ready, I'll just say we broke up… so… please, Keitaro!"

There was a silent growl that came from his throat. He shook his head.

"This is a bad idea," he whispered to her. He looked towards the woman, and gave a sigh. "Just until she leaves. Fine."

"Thank you…" Motoko said, relieved.

* * *

The group came back, with Kitsune calling towards Shinobu to explain what was going on. Motoko and Keitaro both sat across Tsuruko, whose eyes went from hers to his. She studied Keitaro a bit, and gave a small smile. 

"How long have you two been going out?" Tsuruko asked.

"Six months…" he replied.

"Eight…" Motoko replied, the same time with him.

Keitaro tried not to look like he made a mistake. He could feel Motoko slowly turning white beside him as Tsuruko's eyes narrowed, though her smile stayed the same. He quickly thought of a way to salvage the situation.

"She counts when we first met," Keitaro reasoned. "I count the time we first spent the night together."

"Oh… you gone that far," Tsuruko's eyes smiled. "I'm proud Motoko. You're a real woman now!"

Her face was so red, Keitaro wondered whether she was embarrassed or absolutely beside herself… but bless the girl, she kept her mouth shut. He just wished the other tenants didn't look so shocked. They do know this is a pretend, don't they!?

"Keitaro-san…" Tsuruko's eyes suddenly narrowed towards him, as if challenging him. "Since you both have gone that far, you have kissed, right?"

Keitaro looked towards Motoko, who just nodded.

"Of course sister!" she replied, rather strongly.

"Countless times," Keitaro lied smoothly. "She's a very good…"

He was elbowed by Motoko, who looked red again. Keitaro smiled. Whether she knew it or not, what she did was an act of a couple, and he felt a bit optimistic that they had averted another disaster.

"May I… see your kiss, I mean?"

Keitaro felt his optimism vanish. The woman knew this was a fabrication. She was testing the limits to how far the two were going to go for this… he hoped Motoko would wise up and just admits the truth before things get complicated.

"B… but sister…!" Motoko looked towards Keitaro, who at this point in time, was no help. "We… we can't kiss in public!"

"You cannot kiss?" Tsuruko asked, her eyes narrowing.

Keitaro was now sure the woman knew. Motoko was slowly digging a hole deeper to get away… and the woman just kept going after her. He looked towards Motoko, hoping to send a message that her plan didn't work… until he saw her looking at him in the eyes.

She looked at him, then closed her eyes, and slowly approached his lips with hers. Keitaro almost backed away for a moment, shocked by her action. She actually wants to go through with this? He looked towards the others, and they seemed to give a slight nod.

He approached her carefully, as with any woman he had come very close with. Her lips were quivering, awaiting for his touch, but her whole frame showed that she was not ready for this. Her eyes were tightly closed, like a kid hoping the boogey-man would go away by closing her eyes.

Any other girl, he'd have touched her shoulder in an assuring manner… but he didn't dare touch Motoko. Motoko was high strung, almost in a breaking point. Keitaro kept his eyes open when he slowly approached her. She might suddenly explode, and everything would have been over. He'd even be injured.

His plan was just one small pat on her lips… it wouldn't even be called a kiss. He just hoped that after he did the deed, he could give another lie ("Oh, I'm too embarrassed to do it seriously") but it seemed that Motoko had other ideas.

"I… I can't…" she whispered with her quivering lips, and her eyes suddenly went open. Keitaro knew she snapped… and so did Kitsune and Tama-chan.

With quick thinking, Kitsune suddenly covered Tsuruko's eyes, and Tama-chan followed suit with Tsuruko's bird as Motoko's fist suddenly came to view. Without blinking, Keitaro dodged the punch, only for Motoko to follow through… and fall right into Keitaro's arms, her lips locking his.

Kitsune was so shocked at the end result, her hands fell away at the sight, allowing Tsuruko to witness the body to body kiss of Motoko and Keitaro, who both looked like someone pushed them to it. Shinobu and the others, who were beside Kitsune, had their jaws wide open.

Keitaro and Motoko stayed in position. While he could slightly taste her, it was the heat her face was emitting that he concentrated on. She was blushing like mad, and separated from him once her mind cleared.

Kitsune looked around, unsure. It seemed everyone, except for Tsuruko, was quite shocked, so she did what she could to dispel the situation. She clapped.

"What a ROMANTIC KISS!" she exclaimed, clapping. Keitaro could see her straining smile as she did this… she might have been hoping the others would follow suit, but no dice. "Um… sister! Clap for them!"

Tsuruko looked a bit unsure, but got into it, and started clapping. After her, the other tenants followed, clapping as well, much to the chagrined of expression of Motoko, and Keitaro's blank look.

Maybe everything was clear… the accident must have blessed Keitaro and Motoko. There was no way Tsuruko was going to challenge such a (rather outrageous) kiss.

"Now you should take a bath together!" she suddenly declared.

Keitaro groaned. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Keitaro sat down the wooden bench as the steam of the hot springs washed over his body. On his back, Motoko was on the water, naked. She kept giving Keitaro looks from behind her, trying to see if he's peeping on her. 

"At least we're safe…" she finally declared.

"Say's you," Keitaro muttered in a low tone. "She obviously knows."

Motoko glared at Keitaro's back, and crossed her arms on her chest. Keitaro stole a glance, and sighed. He relaxed on the chair, and looked up on the afternoon sky that slowly darkened. It was just a moment ago where he had almost got run over by a truck, and now, he's pretending to be Motoko's fiancé.

Keitaro wondered why he even accepted such a proposal. Tsuruko did save his life, and it was rather unfair to pay back by trying to fool her… but then, when he looked at it, he owed something to Motoko as well. She saved him from vampires. But… he knew that to really pay her back, he had to help her with Tsuruko.

And trying to fool her is no solution.

He had to find out why Motoko was scared of the woman… and maybe he can have a private talk with her, and tell her the situation. Tsuruko didn't seem to be a woman who easily misunderstood or was rash… her calm reactions towards Motoko's obvious and blatant excuses of being engaged to Keitaro and the way she had not just accused her sister of lying would mean she's looking for an answer as well.

An answer Keitaro hoped to extract with his questions.

"Motoko," he began. "Why don't you just tell her what's wrong. I'm sure she'd understand… she seems like a kind and gentle woman…"

"My sister may be like that now… but you don't know her like I do," Motoko replied seriously yet nervously. "Before she married, she was serious, driven… and very intimidating. And even if she doesn't seem like it now… deep inside her, she is.

"Her smile turns cold when she draws her sword…" Motoko placed her knees on her chest. "And… she becomes god-like. In the hundred year history of Shinmeiryuu… she was the best the line ever had to offer. I… I can't match her."

Keitaro snorted a bit.

"It's true!" Motoko turned her head and glared towards Keitaro, and then, her gaze softened. "I'm… sorry I dragged you in this."

He turned his head and looked towards her for a moment. He gave her a small smile.

"I owe you," he said as a matter of fact. "But… Motoko… you can't just run away."

"I know… and don't peek!" Motoko splashed water towards the young man to turn him away. "This is only for show!"

"For show?"

Tsuruko's voice was chilling even in the hot springs. Keitaro and Motoko stiffened as she suddenly appeared in the doorway, dressed in nothing but a white top of her hakama, and her underwear.

Keitaro would have appreciated the view more if the situation wasn't so serious. The ki formed around the older woman quickly and powerfully, sending water and steam away from her as she held her sword, ready to draw.

"Everything you said, Motoko… was it only to fool me?"

Her voice was cold, calm and calculating. Keitaro could feel the immense tension on the bathes as Motoko cowered back from her sister.

"S… sister… I didn't mean to…"

"How can I trust your words, Motoko… when minutes ago, they were just lies!?"

Keitaro felt her awesome power, and stepped back as the fear crept on him. He tried to shake it out, but it lingered in his system longer than what he felt earlier. And it wasn't only her ki that got to him… but her face as well. The only way he could describe her at that point was 'demonic'.

"Motoko… you'll be… punished!" her grin turned feral as the whole place exploded, covering everything in the mist.

"Keitaro… get out of the way!" Motoko suddenly shoved him away, grabbing her own sword as well, and drawing it.

Keitaro saw Motoko's sweat glisten on her back, and her scared yet resolute expression on her face as she scanned her surroundings. Her sword was up and ready, awaiting for Motoko to strike… but with the Tsuruko's ki flying everywhere, it was very hard to pinpoint where she was…

A shadow showed itself on Motoko's right side, and to her credit, she moved swiftly and decisively. Her sword traveled true and quick towards the shadow, and was uncontested. For a moment, Motoko thought it was all over until the steam cleared, and showed that she didn't hit Tsuruko, but a statue.

"You're too predictable…"

Motoko lashed out her sword behind her, only to hit steel as Tsuruko grinned. Parrying it away, she began to slash Motoko with quick succession, who in turn, blocked and tried to parry it away with no success. Tsuruko kept pushing her back with well timed slashes, and countered all the parries Motoko tried.

"You're swordsmanship weakened…"

Motoko gritted her teeth as Tsuruko began to berate her. She tried to overpower Tsuruko, but failed dismally as the older sister continued to push her back.

"You even resorted to lying to me…"

Keitaro watched in slight hesitation as Motoko began to try and get away, only for Tsuruko to attack forcing her to block the incoming attacks. If she attacked, the woman would block and parry… if she tried to run, Tsuruko's sword, which was quite long, would force her to get on defensive.

Motoko was cornered.

"Si… sister…" Motoko began…

"SILENCE!"

Tsuruko's sword suddenly went for the kill, and Motoko saw it. With all she could muster, she blocked the incoming slash… but Tsuruko proved to be more powerful as the curtain finally fell on Motoko. She fell down, her blade shattered at the force of Tsuruko's attack.

Tsuruko stared at her with contempt in her eyes towards her fallen sister as she sheathed her blade.

"I was wrong about you. You do not deserve the dojo," she said evenly. "Starting tomorrow… you won't be a student from Shinmeiryuu, but a regular girl."

Motoko's eyes went towards her broken blade, and then towards her sister. Her hand came out, reaching for her, but she just turned around, and walked away.

The rain began to pour… it seemed the fight had delayed the rain clouds over the sky from pouring, and only after everything was over did it start. Motoko could barely cover her naked body as she sat up on her knees. Keitaro could hear her sobbing silently, keeping her head down. She grabbed her broken blade by the hilt, and softly placed it on her chest. She still tried to hide her tears by not looking up even the slightest.

"Motoko?" Keitaro called.

She didn't respond. She stayed there for a time, and didn't look up until Keitaro had put a towel around her. She looked at him pitifully and then towards the tenants around her. Kitsune and everyone else looked worried… they seemed to have entered the hot springs after hearing the fight.

"I… I failed…" Motoko wallowed, trying to force her tears back. "I failed…"

"It's okay…" Keitaro whispered softly towards her. He looked towards Shinobu and the others… "Get some tea… hopefully it will calm her down. Everyone else… help me get her in the house."

Shinobu nodded, and went in to prepare more tea, while Kitsune, Su, Sarah and Keitaro helped her up. Using her shoulder for support, Kitsune helped Motoko in as Su and Sarah walked with them. Keitaro, of course, limped.

"I'm worthless now…" Motoko continued. "I'm worthless."

Kitsune and Keitaro looked at each other, worried. Su was looking towards Motoko fearfully, while Sarah seemed sad.

"You're not worthless," Keitaro replied evenly, trying to calm her down. "You're worth a lot to people. You're a great friend, and a great girl."

"Am I?" Motoko asked, looking towards Keitaro.

Her tears flowed freely from her eyes, and she looked at Keitaro with utter defeat. He could only nod at her.

"You're a great girl, Motoko," he stated. He didn't exactly lie… but he didn't exactly mean it either. But she needed those words for now. She needed support.

The rain continued to pour… but no matter how strong it was, it could never hide the tears of a shattered girl.

**To Be Continued**

_First A View to a Truth Chapter without Laharl or mention of Laharl's name. :P _

_First K2 story that actually follows the timeline of the canon Love Hina verse. :P _

_First K2 story that was updated three times a row since the creation of the SIA Docmentary. :P _

_Anyone else wanna do a trivia? XD _


	7. Chapter 7

* * *

**07** - _The Woman in a Maid Outfit_

* * *

The walls were immaculate white, something very unnatural to the human world… but since this was heaven, brilliant white walls were a norm. Gods never liked anything to be unblemished, and found it really odd for humans to find themselves at disbelieved if anything around them were shiny and clean, without, of course, the smell of disinfectants and cleaning utilities found in a hospital.

Inside a small box of four walls, a silver table was laid. One side of its wide length was a pitiful technician god who sweated under the gaze of both Seraph and another goddess who were on the other side. On the table were small papers with holy writing in its surface.

"We know you were using the Yggdrasil on three separate occasions," the goddess stated. "The first time was to illegally switch meeting points between two goddesses. The second was erecting a strong magical barrier around a Dead Zone. The third, you were illegally transferring mana to a certain location."

The god looked pale, but didn't comment. He just looked back towards the two opposing figures silently.

"You're digging yourself a grave just by not helping, my dear friend," the Seraph stated calmly. "You don't need to take the brunt of punishment for the wayward goddess. Just tell us her location, and be spared from unjustified judgment."

He still stayed silent, though he lowered his head. He was unable to face them.

"You know you're fate if you refuse to cooperate, don't you?" the goddess stated. "Miyabi has already disconnected herself from the Yggdrasil system, and if she isn't brought to Justice, you will have to take Judgment."

"I… I don't know where she is…" he finally spoke.

"You're lying," the Seraph stated at once.

The pitiful god didn't speak anymore, getting a rise out of the goddess. She was about to do something, probably unruly, when the door suddenly opened, revealing a messenger angel.

"What is it!?" the goddess demanded. "There's an interrogation going on!"

"I'm sorry, mistress, but there is a message of importance for the Seraph concerning the case," the messenger angel replied. He walked towards the Seraph, and gave him a letter.

The goddess watched as the Seraph took great interest in reading the message, and after he folded it, crumpled it, and tore it to pieces. He called towards the goddess, and both walked out of the door, followed by the messenger angel. They left the technician behind to sweat.

There was a moment of silence as the goddess followed the Seraph towards one side of the interrogation room wall, where a one-way view-wall was installed. Unlike one way mirrors, the view wall was perfectly blended in the walls, and not shown as just a huge mirror (like those found in human interrogation rooms).

"Seraph… why are we pausing the interrogation?" the goddess asked.

"A dear friend of mine is has come to visit."

The goddess was about to ask who when they entered the smaller room which had the one-way view-wall. It was a witness room, usually for other investigators to study the perpetrators as they were being questioned, and hopefully, give insight on how to crack them. And inside… was Demon Eyes Laharl. He had a folder under his arms, and beside him was a nervous looking Nitasha.

"You!" the goddess suddenly glowed, before the Seraph's hand came to stop her. "Seraph!"

He ignored her.

"Ah… my friend. It's been a while," the Seraph stated, and walked towards Laharl. They both gave each other a warm hug. "Which one of you is present? The interesting ninja… or the oddball?"

"You are calling me an oddball?" Laharl laughed.

"But you are my friend."

The goddess looked shocked as the Seraph and the demon hybrid were exchanging pleasantries. She was approached by Nitasha, who looked very apologetic.

"I'm sorry, but… he insisted in going here…" she stated nervously.

"I must protest… this is most unwise!" the goddess stated. "A demon cannot be here in the Holy Grounds!"

"Not entirely accurate, my dear," the Seraph responded. "According to Demon-God relations under rule 55, Section A, it says both can visit in the opposite's grounds as long as the intent is not harm and on related business. And my friend is here for the latter, concerning about that god in that room," and he looked at Laharl, "aren't you?"

"And what would a demon hybrid be interested in a business strictly for the gods?" the goddess asked with a slight glare.

"Don't bullshit me," Laharl replied, making her gasp in shock. "This isn't strictly your business. Miyabi is my business, and where she ran to is part of my interest in this god as well."

He then pointed towards Nitasha, who looked a bit taken back by her inclusion.

"Nitasha is also interested in Miyabi because that goddess took her job, and since she has taken interest in the K2 agent whose soul has been jacked, it would also be her business," Laharl finished.

"I'm not interested in the K2 agent!" Nitasha declared with a slight glare towards the hybrid, who just ignored her.

"Well… since you're here my friend," the Seraph continued, "I am assuming you are going to be using your Demon Eyes to extract information…"

"NO! Absolutely not!" the goddess cut the Seraph off at once. "This hybrid is not worthy of our trust to delve in a mind of an Yggdrasil Technician! This is unheard off!"

"My dear, Laharl is someone to trust…" and he was cut off by a slight touch in his shoulder.

"No, I agree with her," Laharl stated, patting the Seraph's shoulder. "Too much risk for something like that. No… I got a ploy… a ploy which is quite risky, but if you hear me out, quite rewarding as well."

"Let us hear it then," the Seraph stated.

"From what I've heard, he was the cause of almost everything," Laharl stated. "The switch, the erection of the wall… By the way his ears twitch at the mention of Miyabi's name I'm guessing he's probably got it bad enough to not talk. And his last illegal usage of the Yggdrasil was a bit funny."

"What do you mean funny?" Nitasha asked.

"According to log files which I got from Hild…" Laharl then opened the envelope, and showed them a folder containing Yggdrasil logs. The goddess looked at them with surprise.

"Hild!? Why would a…"

"Quiet," the Seraph warned the goddess. He looked towards Laharl, and urged him to continue.

"Anyways, his last use of the Ygg was magically charging an item with large concentrated quantities of mana," Laharl continued. "Well… I've had a contact with someone of the O-Faction, and you know how good they are with information. The item that was illegally charged was a simple Japanese fan with a two sword design, which Miyabi bought."

Laharl produced another file which was written in the Japanese language. It showed the file reports of a store name, pictures of Miyabi, and the item in question, and logs of time, and dates.

"Now… we can't find her because she cut herself off from the Yggdrasil after the stint of agent K2's soul being jacked somewhere," Laharl continued. "Being cut off allows gods to operate secretly… like your Non-Official Cover intelligence agents who cut themselves out of the system so they won't be traced. The downside though, is they cannot access programs they normally could on the Ygg. And we both know how Heaven or Hell provides aid to these agents with that disadvantage."

"We send messages on where we'll send concentrated mana on items, which they will acquire, and use the items to by-pass program usage," the goddess finished. "Kami-sama… we missed that aspect completely!"

"You should have seen it… but whatever," Laharl stated. "Point is… Miyabi is using that operating procedure to use Yggdrasil Programs. Hild was very helpful here…"

Laharl showed them another file, this time written in demonic language, which the Seraph and goddess understood, though Nitasha looked confused. The hybrid explained.

"It says here that someone used a large amount of mana to do an inter-dimensional warp," Laharl stated. "I'm willing to bet my right arm it was Miyabi."

Seraph seemed to smile towards the hybrid, but the goddess looked a bit doubtful.

"While it seems likely, there's no solid fact…"

"Facts will take time, which we don't have," Laharl cut her off. "We have to make through logical explanations. And this is the best I could come up with."

"Even if what you say is true… how is this going to help us find Miyabi?" the goddess asked.

"She still might need mana charged items… or maybe she'll need info. Whatever she needs, the only one she's liable to talk to is…" he pointed towards the god inside the interrogation room. "Him."

"Good thinking, my friend," the Seraph stated after a moment of silence. "A bold plan indeed."

"What plan?" the Nitasha asked. "I don't think he mentioned a 'plan' in his whole speech thingy!"

The seraph looked towards the young goddess. He smiled.

"The plan is simple," he stated calmly. "The plan… is to let that technician go."

* * *

It was morning. The hazy memory of yesterday's debacle was still fresh in Keitaro's mind as he woke up. The sun was slowly showing itself from outside of his window, brightening his surroundings. He still felt rather sleepy, and a loud noise woke him up. 

Unlike most nights, where he slept early after reading a few more chapters of Keitaro's journal, he was kept up, restless by the thought of the frail looking Motoko of yesterday. Her lie had backfired on her in a rather large way and paid the price.

How was he supposed to face her from now on? He had found the girl rather pitiful, and was in dire need of helping hands. He doubted if Kitsune could even hope to contend as a supporting role… maybe on Naru's case as they were school friends, but not Motoko. Su, Shinobu and Sarah would most likely be too young to even relate.

_That would leave me_, Keitaro thought… but laughed at the idea. How can he support a girl he hardly even knew? At least the old Keitaro understood (somewhat) how Motoko Aoyama worked and ticked… but K2? In his world, he just avoided her.

Would he support her with lies? Would he tell her, its okay, shit happens, and leave it to that? What if he did any of those, and the results became worse than expected? The girl did save his life, and he was going to repay her by giving her empty lies, and hope.

No… Keitaro didn't work like that. He was not a man who would spit on the face of people who had given him things to be thankful for. She saved him, and now she needed help. She might have done herself in with a lie, but if Keitaro could help her get back on her feet… he'd do it without a second thought.

Another noise had put his mind more on alert. Wiping out the sleepiness off his eyes, Keitaro limped up towards the closet, and looked for some decent clothes.

The clothes Keitaro of this world had been another complaint. Most of them were really average shirts, shorts and pants, and none were unique or special. There was a black suit though… complete with jacket, tie, pants and shoes, but even then, it lacked the usual style and flair that K2 usually looked for. It wasn't even tailored! Just a regular run-of-the-mill suit… absolutely boring in his humble opinion.

He chose a comfy shirt and pants which he folded to accommodate his cased leg. He grabbed his aluminum crutches, and felt the cold metal on his skin before he was finally ready to go down and maybe eat some breakfast. During that time, he can think of a way to support Motoko.

"MYUU!"

The moment he opened his sliding door, he noticed the flying Tama-chan greeting him. He smiled towards the turtle, and walked out towards the hall, and limped on his way down, when his keen eye caught something.

The whole hall looked like it was polished to an almost mirror sheen. A step proved that it might actually have been waxed because the whole surface was as slippery as a frozen lake. He took a few tentative steps, and made his way towards the kitchen in very slow motions as not to slip.

It seems everyone was gathering on the kitchen door, and Keitaro wondered what was going on. He was about to ask when he saw Motoko in a maid outfit, cooking.

He blinked.

"Good gods, I hope I'm dreaming," Keitaro muttered as he wiped his eyes. He did so again. "What in the world's going on here?"

"Check it out Keitaro," Kitsune smiled, pointing towards Motoko. "When she came to my room last night to borrow some of my clothes… I didn't know she was gonna do this!"

"Wah! She's so cute!" Shinobu exclaimed.

Cute was a right term to use. Motoko had tied her hair in a ponytail, and her bangs were also done in. She looked at the cooking stove quite seriously. Her outfit was one of those fantasy French maid outfits, tight fitting especially around the chest and stomach area. The skirt was quite short, not even reaching the knees, revealing her shapely thighs. Her legs were covered in black stocking.

Keitaro felt slightly odd seeing Motoko in that outfit for it was not something he'd imagine Motoko wearing at ease; while she looked very desirable in that outfit, her face ruined her beauty. She looked like she was trying force herself to play a character in a movie she could not relate to.

Her eyes seemed rather dead.

When she looked up towards the others, she spotted Keitaro looking at her, studying. She shifted uncomfortably.

"G… good morning… Urashima… senpai…"

He cringed at her speech. He could see the various details from her cheeks being slightly blushing, the sweat forming around her chin, and the bandages around her hand, probably caused by knife cuts.

"Killing yourself to serve breakfast, Motoko?" Keitaro asked. He was hoping to get a bit of rise or laugh out of her… but she just ignored what he said and went for the pots.

"I… I made clam flavored soup!" Motoko declared, going towards one of the pots and tasted the broth. "I know it's your favorite…"

"You don't have to make breakfast…" Keitaro stated, gently grabbing her shoulder. "You're upset… but…"

"Please!"

Motoko's exclamation came clear and loud as she turned around, as not to face the others. Keitaro was pretty sure she was crying.

"I… I'm a regular girl…" Motoko stated with an even voice. "My swords broken and I have no where else to go. I decided to remain here… and work as payment for the rent."

She slowly moved back towards the pans and began to continue her work there.

"So… please… let me work diligently so… I can stay."

"Motoko…" Keitaro called gently towards the young woman. When she didn't respond, he nodded to himself, and just sat down on one of the chairs. The others seemed to follow suit. They quietly waited for Motoko to serve up breakfast, looking at each other and towards their dressed tenant.

Motoko wiped her eyes with a handkerchief, and silently began to place rice and meals towards their respected plats and bowls. One by one, she placed a tray that held a traditional Japanese breakfast towards the others.

"Uh… is… this it?" Kitsune asked, a bit taken aback. Keitaro was too.

Usually, Shinobu would prepare a rather nice quantified meal… of course, it's not to say that Motoko's breakfast looked ugly or inedible, but the amount that was on the tray was ridiculous. One bowl of rice that wasn't even filled out, the dish in a small platter… even smaller than what Keitaro would use to drink sake with the Kitsune back in his world. Even the soup was not filled halfway through its bowl.

Su seemed to raise her hand. "Um… Momo… where's the rest?"

"This is it," Motoko stated.

"But… where's the banana?" Su asked back.

"Banana?" Motoko shook her head. "This is a Japanese meal."

"B… but I'm not Japanese!"

"Neither am I…" Sarah seemed to mutter as she poked her dish with her fork.

Motoko seemed to get annoyed at the protests. "Martial artists are people who learn to live with only a few things," Motoko stated, crossing her arms across her chest. "And besides… what I cooked are healthy foods!"

Kitsune whispered towards Keitaro, "Oh yeah… 'I'm a regular girl' she claims," she stated sarcastically, earning a small smile from Keitaro. "And here she is… telling us about martial artists when she's wearing a maid uniform."

Keitaro tried not to chuckle. For a moment, Motoko's eyes flared with life as she had lectured Sarah and Su about the importance of eating healthy food and the benefits of living like a martial artists. While Sarah seemed to claim that she was overdoing it, Keitaro didn't speak. He could live like this for a while… besides, Motoko looked slightly happier than she did a moment ago.

"I don't care! I'm not a martial artist! And I want a banana!" Su complained.

"Seconds please!" Kitsune asked, raising her bowl.

"There won't be seconds or thirds anymore," Motoko declared.

"WHAT!?" Kitsune demanded, standing up, looking astounded.

"We'll be eating again at twelve sharp!" Motoko ignored the protesting Kitsune. "And no snacks between meals!"

Kitsune's and everyone else's (Keitaro kept silent) protest were ignored by Motoko's ears as she cleaned up after everyone. Keitaro, along with the others, just walked out of the kitchen, and walked carefully in the still slippery floors.

"I'm still hungry," Kitsune complained.

"Me too… my breasts and butt are still in development too," Sarah quipped, earning a rather quiet snort from Keitaro. Behind them was Su, who just slid on the floor tiredly, and probably very disappointed that she did not get a well deserved banana.

"I know eating too much is bad for you…" Keitaro whispered with a slightly nervous tone (to keep up the image of being Keitaro of this world). "But… the meal was silly."

"You're right," Kitsune muttered before she skipped away from the group. "But I'm not just lie here! Life is about enjoying living it! What's the fun living in a strict mentality eh?"

Keitaro chuckled. "You live like you want, right, Kitsune?"

"You better believe it," she said with a wink as she turned and walked away.

In a matter of a few minutes, Keitaro and the others heard Kitsune scream. Keitaro looked alert, thinking of what possibly had happened to make the woman scream like that. He was about to go when she came down holding a large bottle of sake, her face crunched, looking as sour as a lemon.

"What is this!?" Kitsune complained, holding the bottle.

Sarah grabbed it, and smelled it, and looked sour herself. She held her nose as if the bottle contained some really smelly liquid. Keitaro grabbed it after her, and took a whiff as well. His nose crunched at the absolutely powerful smell of vinegar as it entered through his nasal passage. He immediately placed the bottle an arms length away.

"Vinegar…" he replied weakly.

"I know damn well its vinegar!" Kitsune stated loudly. "I tasted it!"

Motoko suddenly appeared, probably already finished washing the dishes from the kitchen. Her eyes were still on fire as she watched everyone and gave them all a nod.

"Kitsune, drinking vinegar is good for you," Motoko stated. "It will also make you feel younger too!"

"B… but…!"

"Didn't you also say you felt that you were gaining weight?"

That question got Kitsune to turn to a statue. She looked like she was electrocuted. Motoko didn't seem to want to listen as she grabbed the other girl's hand and brought her out towards the grounds.

"We will jog around Hinata-sou 30 times!" she suddenly declared, and dragged Kitsune on the run.

"No… wait!"

But her protests died down as the first round grabbed her breathe and stamina. On the entrance, Keitaro and everyone else watched as Motoko pushed the poor woman into a running game. Keitaro had to wonder briefly how badly he was in shape as he watched the sight, and soon, felt sorry for Kitsune as she was forced to run.

And that was just the beginning. Shinobu, after a while, realized that she needed some firewood, and asked Sarah to help her out. Out of nowhere, Motoko appeared with two knives, and to Shinobu and Sarah's shock, just chopped the logs to pieces. The girls ran away, ignoring Motoko's inquiry if they needed more help.

Another attack of the Broken Samurai Girl (as Keitaro would now christen Motoko) came when Shinobu went to wash the laundry. Once again, Super Maid Motoko (this time, Kitsune christened Motoko with that name) came to the rescue (to her mind) and grabbed the basket, and dumped all of the clothes in the washing machine without even bothering with separating the colors.

The end result was spectacular. The pure white shirt Keitaro had became pink, and one of Kitsune's lingerie turned to a weird shade of green. While Keitaro didn't mind the shirt, Kitsune was absolutely aghast that by mid-afternoon, she called in a meeting in the rooftops… and dumped all her problems to the manager.

"Keitaro, do something!" Kitsune moaned. "She's driving me nuts! No sake, no full course meal… lunch was even worse than breakfast!"

"I want banana! Banana!" Su moaned quietly.

"I… I want to do some chores at least…" Shinobu complained as well. She rarely complained.

"Keitaro… she's being very weird!" Sarah complained. "Can't ya do something?"

"Like what?" Keitaro asked. "Her sister kicked her out of the school… probably the only thing she knew how to live for."

"Can't you like call Tsuruko?" Kitsune asked. "I mean… we can try to convince her to forgive Motoko… I mean… everything that happened yesterday was quite silly."

"Yeah…" Sarah agreed. "Silly!"

"Yeah… well, it might add to the fact that Motoko's family is from the old line," Keitaro reasoned. "You know… honor, respect, and all that. But she has no where else to go. She convinced herself that she's worthless now that she isn't a swordswoman. You all have to admit… she does do her job well and diligently.

"Look… I'll think of something," Keitaro continued. "But for the meantime… just hold on for a while, alright? If we can do that, we can at least help Motoko as she's going through this phase."

Kitsune looked at him studiedly, and then smirked. Keitaro could feel a tease coming out of the woman as her grin turned a bit wild. He slowly expected the worst.

"You know Keitaro… by the way you talk about Motoko, it's like you like her," Kitsune declared softly.

"Why would you say that?" Keitaro asked, looking miffed.

"Oh… you know… the soft tones you use when you mention her name… the way your eyes look all lovey dovey when you see her…"

Keitaro found Kitsune's teasing a bit irritating as it was not exactly a good time to be teasing him about. Sure, he might have found her slightly cuter ever since she wore that French maid outfit (and since it was taken from Kitsune's wardrobe… probably not a real uniform for a maid) but he was more concerned about her well being than anything.

"I am not attracted to her at all," Keitaro denied with a slightly cold tone. "I just feel sorry for her. She lived her whole life as a samurai, now she's trying too hard to be a regular girl, and it doesn't suit her. She isn't exactly feminine, and she looks even worse if she tries.

"She's trying such a ludicrous outfit that doesn't even suit her!" Keitaro frowned a bit. "And by the way she's been acting she actually thought she could change overnight! Motoko is trying hard… but she can't! She's trying to show she can be a regular girl, but everything she's doing just screams out 'swordswoman'! She just can't… period."

Keitaro looked at the others, hoping to garner a response, but they seemed to ignore him, looking behind him blankly. Su was waving her hand.

Keitaro silently cursed, and looked behind him, to see Motoko on the ground, her hands on her sides, and a bunch of laundry, which she was probably carrying, fell neatly around her feet. She was quite far, but Keitaro expected her eyes to form some tears. He cursed silently again, and descended from the ladder he was standing in.

"Motoko, wait…" Keitaro called as he slowly went towards the ground.

The girl ran fast, ignoring his call. Keitaro was about to follow, when once again his body disobeyed him. His freezing spell hit him during a mid step, and the end result was flailing to the ground face first.

It lasted only a second, and Keitaro began to curse out loud. Damn this body of his for freezing on him! Damn his mouth for saying something harsh and stupid! Damn the girl for putting herself and him to this fucking predicament! Damn that Tsuruko woman for appearing! Damn this world for not being his!

Every problem Keitaro had forced back inside came bubbling out, and he couldn't keep his curses quite silent. He stood up with a growl, and wished he could punch a wall… or shoot something with an automatic rifle!

His body posture turned straight, and Keitaro just walked in towards the dorm with a blank face. Up on the roofs, Kitsune and the others were watching Keitaro with interest.

"Wow…" Kitsune stated. "Didn't know he cursed like that."

"The dork's been acting weird too," Sarah declared.

"Probably 'cause Naru isn't around, and because she's been giving him the cold shoulder," Kitsune concluded.

"Naru's in Kyoto, right?" Shinobu asked. Kitsune just nodded.

"I want banana…" Su just stated, still hungry.

* * *

Keitaro sighed as he sank down in one of the couches in the reception area of the dorm. His momentary anger of everything was almost gone, but his mood had not improved much. He had opened his mouth, and in return, he drove away the girl he had been trying to help. 

He knew he didn't do anything wrong, exactly. He did speak a rather harsh truth that she was trying too hard… but he couldn't help but feel bad about it. He sighed.

The phone rang.

Keitaro stood up and limped towards the phone. He answered it after it rang one more time when it was in his reach.

"Hello?" he muttered rather evenly.

"Mr. Urashima, good afternoon."

Keitaro felt his anger rise again, worsening his mood. Why was the damn woman calling him now?

"Good afternoon," Keitaro greeted rather coldly.

"I would like to set a meeting with you," Tsuruko's voice was crisp and clear. "It concerns Motoko."

Keitaro listened intently. "Go on."

"I would like to meet you at this certain place in thirty minutes time…"

Keitaro grabbed a pencil and paper. He wrote down the details, and hung the phone after the use. He looked at the piece of paper a moment, and wondered briefly why Tsuruko wanted to meet up with him.

He hoped she wasn't going to give a silly proposition, or else he'd really give it to her… her sword skills and his weak body be damned.

He ripped the paper into a many pieces after he memorized the details. Time to dress up.

**To Be Continued…**

_Not much… but I guess most people know what's coming up, eh? _

_I'm still working on the Beginning of Keitaro Urashima (story about K2 before he became K2) and thanks to my PS2… :P I kinda got side tracked. _

_Anyways, enjoy the chapter. _


	8. Chapter 8

* * *

**08** - _Tsuruko Aoyama_

* * *

Almost four in the afternoon. Keitaro arrived earlier than he was expected. He wore a white short sleeved shirt buttoned almost all the way, but he didn't change his pants. He also wore a simple black loafer on his uninjured leg.

The meeting place was at a regular dining café, something simple, and something open. Keitaro had heard of place, even back at his world (was surprised it even existed here). Their specialty was with western dishes, and Keitaro found it rather odd on why Tsuruko would choose this place. Maybe she liked western food?

He saw her on one of the tables outside of the café, drinking a cup of tea. Judging from the cup, it was a traditional Japanese tea, and on her table was a small plate of Japanese sweets.

She saw him immediately, waving her hand at him. Keitaro wondered briefly how he should approach the woman, and decided that a normal one would do. He could still feel his mood souring with every moment his mind flashed back on the little memories he had on the woman.

She was not someone who'd be easily intimidated. Her swords skills are above question. She's as mysterious as a magician's trick that has not yet been revealed. He had no idea what she was planning, or why she had called on him to this place.

How would he act? Like his old self? The woman probably doesn't know the old Keitaro, so it would be safe be K2 for a while. And what would he say? What would she say? From what she said on the phone earlier, it was about Motoko.

A lot of questions kept popping in Keitaro's mind. By the time he had arrived on the table where Tsuruko was sitting, he decided to let the woman speak first. He needed to know what was on her mind… she had the advantage over him now. He wondered if he could turn that advantage to his side soon after they begin.

"Mr. Urashima," Tsuruko greeted with a slight professional smile. "You're early."

"I tend to not keep my dates waiting," Keitaro replied evenly. "Especially ones that have captured my attention."

"Oh… have I done that?" she raised her hand to call a waitress. "I'm sorry my dear boy… but I'm married."

"Then it keeps things rather simple," Keitaro countered, earning an amused look from the woman.

The waitress came, and smiled at them. After giving them both a professional greeting, Tsuruko told her to get Keitaro's order, if he wanted. Not really feeling rebellious, he accepted her offer, and ordered a clubhouse sandwich, with a side order of scrambled eggs and a glass of orange juice.

"You're a heavy eater, Mr. Urashima," Tsuruko commented.

"I haven't had a good lunch I'm afraid," Keitaro replied.

"You're also different then what I've heard," she continued.

"Oh? Where have you heard me from?"

"My sister wrote to me… she described you as a perverted young man with insatiable taste in groping their tenants," Tsuruko replied. "She kept writing to me letters every month ever since her arrival at Hinata-sou. I had read them all whole-heartedly."

K2 bowed his head, and sighed. How stupid was Motoko? She wrote her sister letters about Keitaro, and then when her sister comes, she suddenly becomes engaged to him? No wonder Tsuruko seemed to know they were lying!

"Is that how you knew that Motoko was lying to you?" Keitaro asked. "She wrote to you every month… and each of her letters probably stated a lot of bad things about me…"

"Not everything was bad," Tsuruko gently cut him off. "She did say some good things about you. You have a spine so weak that you'd happily do house chores that your tenants usually did in turns. You also could cook, and kept to yourself a lot because you lack in confidence… But that's not true, is it?"

Keitaro could only give her a small sarcastic smile.

"To her credit though," Tsuruko continued. "She stopped writing me about eight months ago… though her opinion of you never changed. And when I arrived yesterday, I found out my sister was engaged towards the man she had claimed to detest. Even if she covered herself with a plausible answer, I didn't buy it."

Keitaro remembered Motoko's answer on Tsuruko's question on how long they were engaged. Motoko had answered 'eight months ago'… the same time she stopped writing Tsuruko. It might have been an okay answer… but did she possibly believe her older sister would even believe such a blatant lie?

Keitaro shook his head more. His answer to her was also another factor on how Tsuruko found the jig out. If Motoko kept writing to her sister, Tsuruko knew the two met longer than eight months **(1)**.

He sighed.

"But… you…" Tsuruko looked towards him. "You're different from the man Motoko was writing about. You don't seem to lack confidence. You don't seem perverted."

"She could have been lying," Keitaro reasoned.

"Probably," Tsuruko responded. "But I know my sister very much. She's quite honest in what she writes, especially when it concerns her feelings. Did you know she's a good story writer?"

Keitaro shook his head. That was something new.

"Well… I suppose she wouldn't share that secret to a 'perverted' male," she giggled softly, her tone going a bit sarcastic when she uttered the word perverted. "I was half-glad that you, a man, had taken over as the manager of her dormitory."

"And why is that?" Keitaro asked, shifting his seat a bit.

"My sister has a problem with men," Tsuruko stated, and took a deep drink in her cup.

The waitress arrived, and served Keitaro his sandwich sliced neatly into right angled triangles. The club-house sandwich propped to surround a handful of potato chips in the center, and around the sandwich wall was the scrambled eggs. A tall glass of orange liquid came in beside the plate.

Keitaro began to eat.

"Is it good?" Tsuruko asked, peering in his plate.

"Done well," Keitaro replied, poking his egg with a fork, and took a bite. "The egg is a bit overcooked, though.

"Anyway, back to what you were saying… about Motoko having problems with men," Keitaro smirked slightly, looking down. He wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I always thought she was more geared towards women.

"No offense," he added after a momentary pause.

"None taken," Tsuruko replied easily. "My sister… isn't like that."

"You sound quite sure of that," he stated.

"Yesterday proved that to me," she replied. "When she actually trusted you to fool me in thinking she was engaged."

"She was using me," Keitaro took another bite of his egg. He swallowed. "I owe her my life… so I didn't mind."

"Ah… so that's why you actually went through with it," Tsuruko nodded to herself. "But… you're wrong, Mr. Urashima. She trusted you. If she didn't, you wouldn't have been the first one she went to for help."

"I was the only man there," he reasoned.

"Yes… and if she really was into women… she'd have gone for that lovely young woman with silver hair, wouldn't she?" Tsuruko countered.

"Maybe she didn't want you to think she was…" Keitaro gave a meaningful pause, "… like that."

"If there is one thing my sister knows about me is that I do not care about the sex of the person she'd love," she sounded a bit annoyed now. "I said to her many times… love is love, and it doesn't matter who you love. A man, a woman… for me it doesn't matter, and she knows that.

"Back to what I was saying… I'm glad that you, a man, are her dormitory manager. You see… I am to blame for her bias against men," Tsuruko declared softly. "It was essentially my fault why she holds them in disdain."

"Oh?" Keitaro asked. "What did you do?"

"I got married," Tsuruko replied, and then drank some tea again. "For our school, those born within the family, if a woman who is named as the heir would marry… she'd forfeit the right to take over the dojo."

"And what about the men named as heirs? What would happen if they marry?" Keitaro asked, taking a bite at his sandwich.

"Men aren't named as heirs," Tsuruko smiled. "It's a tradition of many years. The Aoyama family started as simple priestesses who were assigned to drive away evil spirits. Beautiful women, all of them…"

"I can see that," Keitaro stated easily. Tsuruko gave him a small smile.

"Of course, beautiful women attract powerful men," she continued. "And most of the men before with any real power were samurais. They gave birth to children gifted at both swordsmanship and the ability in driving out supernatural forces. Since then, the Aoyama family had decided to add sword skills as a medium and it proved more effective in fighting evil spirits than the normal magic skills we used to possess."

"That's a nice story, but I'm afraid I don't see what that has got to do with Motoko hating men," Keitaro stated.

"It's rooted in some subtle teachings of Shinmeiryuu that men really don't hold much importance in the school," Tsuruko explained. "Of course, that is just traditional propaganda. Men are just not named as heir of the school. Only women. And I was supposed to take over… but… I fell in love.

"Because of something so simple, I had to plunge myself off as heir of the school," she continued. "I in avertedly dropped all my responsibilities to Motoko, who was still young at that time. But I didn't care… I was in love. And I believed in Motoko that she would make a fine heir."

"Not anymore, as you seemed to have dropped her from the list," Keitaro stated with a harsh tone.

"I wouldn't presume you'd understand, Mr. Urashima," she softly replied. "As a warrior of my school, I take what is said to me seriously. She claimed to have married, and only said so to skip responsibilities and not because she did fall in love. I was insulted. And as her sister, I was hurt that she wouldn't even tell me the truth. I had no choice but to do what I did.

"Of course… I still love my sister very much," she continued. "With that, I am opting to give her one more chance. If she passes, she can return as a swordswoman of our school, and continue to train as the heir."

Keitaro's lips curled downwards.

"Then why are you telling me?" he asked. "Why don't you go tell Motoko?"

"Because, Mr. Urashima, you are an important factor to this test I will give my sister," Tsuruko replied. "Quite important.

"You will have to help her best me in combat," she ended.

Keitaro's mouth formed a shocked 'o'. His mind seemed to have picked up that surprising bit of info quite fast. It now raised questions in his head… a lot of them. He could see a small sad smile form in Tsuruko's mouth, and even more questioned popped out.

"I have a broken leg," he stated as a matter of fact. "I can't work out, nor move properly…"

"I'm sure a man like you wouldn't be stopped like that," she replied, looking at his eyes. "Besides… you're just there as my sister's support. I do not expect you to fight me directly. It would be suicide for you.

"If you both win, she gets her status back."

Keitaro glared at her for a moment, before he began to think more of this thoroughly. What are the chances that Motoko would be able to beat her? Judging from yesterday's battle and Motoko's attitude towards her sister that day, he wondered briefly if she'd even dare to confront her again.

"What if we lose?" Keitaro asked.

"Ah… then you will both have to make good with your lie, and marry," Tsuruko stated straight, taking another sip of her tea.

"Excuse me?" Keitaro's tone got cold. He once felt his hackles rising along with his anger. His eyes narrowed towards the woman. Did he hear her right?

She looked back at him with the same coolness she always had, meeting his angry gaze with her own calm one. She didn't bother to smile anymore.

"You both will marry," she replied. "As a warrior, I have to take high offense in you lying to me with Motoko. I did save your life, if you remember. You owed me… and you pay me back by trying to fool me. This is the least you can do to get back at my good graces."

"I refuse," Keitaro stated. "I don't like your damn game, woman."

Tsuruko took his reply with ease, and grabbed a piece of rolled paper from inside her hakama, and unrolled it in front of the table. Keitaro looked down, checking out what she was showing him.

It was a marriage certificate, with both Motoko and Keitaro's name. His eyes widened.

"You…" Keitaro swallowed the curse he was about to say. "What's the meaning of this!?"

The certificate looked official. It even had the necessary stamps and information. Where the hell did she get this? Was she that well connected to even get something like this, this fast? Keitaro growled as he took the paper, and was tempted very much to rip it, knowing full well it was useless.

Tsuruko didn't seem to mind his temper and mood. She looked calm and serene while she took another sip of her tea.

"It's an official certificate," she stated. "According to the law, you and Motoko are now husband and wife."

"Why the hell are you doing this?" Keitaro demanded. "This is too much… even for a small lie!"

"This is for my sister," she replied.

"You're sister? That's a damn lie! You're not helping her with this! You're going to ruin her life!" he ranted. "She doesn't need this!"

"Yes she does," she stated evenly. "Her sword skills are degrading not because she lacks practice or discipline, but because she is conflicted. She needs someone who will help her in life. She needs to know how to depend on someone to grow stronger."

"Get her a damn psychiatrist then!" Keitaro stated.

"She needs a man who will care for her," Tsuruko countered. "Ever since the time I got married, she felt she lost her only sister and teacher to a male. She has to let go of these petty feelings and bias against men… and I think you're the man for her to teach her that. Yesterday… she trusted you with a big lie. She even protected you from my wrath in the bathes."

"You're crazy," Keitaro stated, earning a chuckle from her.

"Don't think this is some random thought made by a delusional woman," she replied with a small smile. "She likes you, Mr. Urashima. I may not talk about you… but I know you care for her. If you hadn't… you wouldn't have lied with her."

Keitaro looked towards the woman and towards the paper again. He closed his eyes. Was he cursed? Was that it? Motoko was to blame… with her half cooked plan to trick her devious sister, who was a bitch in her own right, thrusting to him something as stupid as this. Married? The notion was impossible in his mind!

Maybe what Tsuruko have said may be true… her sister probably did need help… maybe even a man. But she made such a decision without even thinking about him! Did she think that he was nothing more than a means to an end? He wanted to shoot that porcelain face. He wanted to rub out that small smile she had.

He growled, and looked away, rubbing his temples with his two hands. Damn this woman to hell. Damn Motoko as well.

"I know you don't like this, Mr. Urashima," Tsuruko sounded a bit sorry for him. "But… it's not like you can't do anything about it. All you have to do is help Motoko beat me… and I shall null your marriage. That I promise you."

"You don't expect us to win, do you?" Keitaro asked, suddenly looking at her with a stone face. "All this talk about beating you… you don't believe it's going to happen, do you?"

She smiled. "No, Mr. Urashima… I do not expect you two to beat me. But if you both do… then I may have been wrong about my sister. If you lose… she gains a partner which will help her to grow stronger than she is now."

"You win, either way," Keitaro stated.

"Yes," she replied. "I can see we understand each other."

"Very much," Keitaro stood up. He was about to walk away when Tsuruko motioned the certificate with her hand.

"Take it with you," she said. "And bring it to Kyoto where we will face each other. If you win, I will annul the certificate on the spot."

"Fine," he grabbed the paper, and rolled it. He placed it on the pocket of his shirt.

"When will I expect you both?" she asked.

"A week, starting tomorrow," Keitaro replied evenly. "Good day, Aoyama-san."

"Good day, Mr. Urashima," Tsuruko smiled and watched the young man make his way away from her. When he was out of sight, she placed her palm on her face, and gently rubbed her eyes with her fingers in a tired manner.

She was playing with fire… and she could have possibly destroyed two lives, one close to her. She gave a small sigh. She hoped… prayed… that the gamble was worth it.

But the image of the man came back to her. He looked very frail, and was an almost non existent threat… but his spiritual energy was enormous, something her family could use. And the man himself was interesting…

"Urashima…" she whispered.

Her gamble will pay off… which way though, she'll have to find out in a week.

* * *

Keitaro cursed as he stopped in a tree shade for a moment. His mood was still sour. It seems he finally met a woman that could aggravate him this much… but then again, she was not the sole to blame. It was this situation he was placed in that is making him lose his usually well honed edge. 

All the training, and he was stuck here, pretending to be some weak willed loser who failed to get in to college three times! Has no girlfriend, no life outside study, is pushed around by women, even blackmailed (by Kitsune even!) at some points… and to top it off, he was in love with a gorilla. Amazing. Totally amazing.

K2 had enough. The world wants to screw him, fine then. He's going to screw the world back. That Aoyama woman wants a fight; she's going to get one. He made a plan to visit Yuko again, and get a wish. Screw the price. He wanted to see that woman's face when he and Motoko beat her down.

But… first things first. He's going to need Motoko back. She already had run away, and she probably hasn't returned yet. She'd also needed a sword, as her last one was done in by her older sister.

Swords are expensive weapons… especially the good ones. Where would he get the money to even buy a decent one for Motoko? He didn't want to look at Keitaro's bank account and even try to gauge if his measly money would be sufficient to buy one.

No… he would need some help. In his world, when he needed something, he'd gone for KU or H. Since Su isn't exactly KU, his thoughts focused on Haruka of this world. He wondered briefly if he could depend on her for something like this… but after a while, he shrugged, and went towards the Tea House.

What harm was there in asking for help, right?

He arrived in the there after a few moments, and came in through the open door. Luckily, there were not much guests around, and Haruka had spotted the hobbling Keitaro straight away, and waved at him.

Asking what he was doing here, Keitaro looked at her seriously, and told her that he was in need of advice and help. Haruka just nodded, and led him towards an empty table, where he sat for a while until every single guest left (Haruka put the closed sign on her shop as not to get new customers for that day).

"Alright, Keitaro, what did you want to talk about?" Haruka asked as she sat down opposite of Keitaro, lighting herself a cigarette.

Keitaro thought his words rather carefully. "I may need to borrow some money…"

"What for?" Haruka asked.

"I want to buy a sword," he replied.

"A sword?" Haruka looked at her nephew neutrally for a moment. "Look… if the girls are much more dangerous to you now since you're injured, I'm sure you can just talk to them in treating you a bit more gently…"

Keitaro gave her a look. "No, it's not for me," he stated. "It's for Motoko."

And then, he launched an explanation of the happenings of yesterday, assuming that Haruka hasn't heard from any of the tenants. He was partly correct. Haruka had heard from Kitsune that Motoko's sister had come and visit, and it wasn't a good day. The woman didn't elaborate though, and she focused more on Motoko's new act, involving her sake turning to vinegar.

Keitaro explained in full detail, how Motoko had convinced him to play along with her farce, only to be found out. He recounted the details of the bathes where the two Aoyama's fought hard and fast, resulting in Motoko's sword cut to two. He also told her about Motoko's outrageous acts and dress that morning, preparing poorly quantified meals which left the tenants hungrier than ever, and finally, his meeting with Tsuruko.

"And she told me that in a week, Motoko will have to return to Kyoto, probably where she had trained, to challenge her sister again," Keitaro concluded. "If she wins… she gets back her status. Since she doesn't have a sword, I figured I could get one for her."

Haruka looked at him for a moment, and then took a deep breathe from her cigarette. She seemed to be thinking and swallowing what Keitaro had just said. Her form reminded him of H back home… he was kind of glad that it did. The contrast of this world and his were so glaring that he thought he would slowly lose his sanity… it was only the familiarity of some people that held him on a bit longer.

"Keitaro…" she finally spoke. "Tell me something. Why are you going for all the trouble in helping Motoko with a sword?"

"I feel partially responsible for agreeing with her lie…" he lied solemnly. "If I didn't get involved, Motoko would have probably have admitted to her sister the truth and things may have turned differently."

"So… you're going to probably borrow a lot of money because you feel partially responsible…" Haruka gave Keitaro a look. "I suppose that's how this Tsuruko woman felt that she had to tell you that she's giving Motoko a second chance instead of going to her, right?"

Keitaro knew Haruka knew he was lying. He closed his eyes, and his lips formed an amused smile. A chuckle escaped from them, and he shook his head. Unbelievable. He felt like he was back at home for a moment.

Without any more lies or even words, Keitaro took out the certificate from his shirt pocket, and unrolled on top of the table, in front of Haruka, who looked a bit surprised as she read it. Understanding seemed to dawn on her, and she nodded to herself.

"My, my, Keitaro… how do you get into situations like this?" she asked. "First… Todai. Then… Naru, and now… married to Motoko."

Keitaro wanted to do a small protest about the Naru bit, but desisted. "Story of my life," he muttered.

"Yeah… it is," Haruka agreed. "Look… I don't have any money to help you here…"

Haruka half expected Keitaro's face to go dejected, but was rather disappointed to see that her nephew seemed to have read her accurately, and sat up, leaning towards the table, listening aptly for the 'but'. She didn't disappoint.

"But… I think there's a sword here available," she ended. "I've heard from grandma lots of times, and even spotted it once in the dorm."

"Where?" Keitaro asked, curious.

"Attic," she replied easily. "It's an old sword… probably a forgotten heirloom… so, I don't know if it can be used for battle."

"Better than nothing I suppose. If it can't be used for battle, then it could sell enough to get one that can," Keitaro stated. "Have you been at the dorm? Did Motoko return?"

"No, and I don't know," Haruka replied. "But judging from Kitsune here twenty or so minutes ago… she hasn't returned."

"The sword's useless without the swordswoman," he stated softly. "I'm going to look for her."

"It's probably your fault that she ran away… isn't it?" Haruka asked.

"Did you guess, or did Kitsune tell you?" Keitaro asked, giving Haruka a patronizing look.

"She might have mentioned it…" she replied with a smirk.

Keitaro smiled softly, and stood up. He was done with this business, and now it was time to move to the next. He limped towards the exit, while Haruka stayed behind, looking at him.

"If you're going, bring some umbrellas," Haruka stated. "I heard it was going to rain tonight."

Keitaro gave her a brief nod, and grabbed two umbrellas (Haruka pointed them out) before he exited the tea-house.

* * *

The rain had already poured when Keitaro had left the Hinata grounds. He opened one of the umbrellas and walked around the streets of this prefecture. Once in a while, he'd ask a few people if they have seen a woman in a French maid outfit running around. Some responded positively, and pointed him in a direction. 

As Keitaro continued on, he met Mutsumi on the way, who was under a bus stop, sheltered from the rain. He gave her a slight smile.

"Mutsumi-san…" he greeted. "Going home?"

"I was going to visit," Mutsumi gave him a silly smile. "But… the rain kinda stopped me."

"Ah…"

"Where are you going, Kei-kun?" she asked.

"I'm looking for Motoko," Keitaro replied easily. "She's… faced a problem. And… well, let's say it wasn't pretty."

"Ah," Mutsumi nodded to herself. "I think I saw her running this way for a moment… she wore such a cute maid outfit!"

"Really?" he smiled a bit. "Where? When?"

"Just a few minutes ago," Mutsumi pointed towards the streets. "She ran and turned left at the second block there."

"Thanks," Keitaro was about to walk towards where Mutsumi had pointed to him, when he looked towards the woman. He offered her the second umbrella.

"You can visit if you want," he stated. "But… it probably won't be a good time."

She just nodded. "Okay, Kei-kun… thanks," she smiled at him.

"You can return it to Haruka," Keitaro gave her a smile. "Bye Mu-chan!"

Mutsumi smiled and waved towards the retreating back of Keitaro. He called her Mu-chan again. He unconsciously kept calling her that. It always gave shivers to her spine. The way he talked to her, and the way his eyes bore into hers… she sighed.

Opening the umbrella, she walked on the rain under its protection, and walked back home.

* * *

Keitaro hastened his pace as he turned left on the street corner, and spotted the familiar black and white maid dress that Motoko wore. She was on her knees, shaking off a dog that seemed to have taken a liking to her hand. She still looked crestfallen defeated. Her eyes, unmistakably, had tears. 

Keitaro sighed. He walked slowly towards her, and approached her. She seemed to have sensed him, looking up to him. He was right. She had been crying. He shook his head. He gave her an assuring smile.

"Hey…" he calmly greeted her. "Motoko… lets get you home."

She looked at him, her lips quivering. Kami-sama… the girl looked extremely vulnerable. She didn't seem to know how to respond. After a minute in the rain, she didn't move from her spot. She bowed her head down to her knees.

"Leave me alone…" she whispered softly.

Keitaro looked down for a moment, then back at her. His eyes steeled with determination, and his face was neutral. He closed his eyes.

"No. I'm not leaving you alone."

She looked at him, and he back. The two stayed under the crying dark sky, waiting for one of them to move.

**To Be Continued…**

_Notes:_

**(1) – **_Chapter 06 of A View to a Truth, Keitaro reasoned to Tsuruko the difference of the answer on when Motoko and he started dating. He claimed that she says eight months because that's when they met._

_Anyways, hope you people enjoyed that. And for those asking questions in their reviews, thanks for them. :P If anyone noticed, I integrate an answer in future chapters. _

_Now, an Extra for all of you! An exclusive interview of K2 from Aaron!!_

* * *

The spotlights turned on, and the music blared. A voice from the intercom announced the start of the program. 

"It's that time again. It's 'Late Night with Aaron Saotome. And now here's your host, the co-star of UNNC, AAARON SAOTOME!!"

The audience claps heartily. In comes Aaron, wearing a tux and his usual shades.

"Thank you. Thank you. Some of you are wondering if I'll ever get a guest spot on K2. The answer is probably not. I'm way too overpowered and cool for those stories," Aaron paused for a moment before he continued. "So, instead of appearing in those stories, I invited our guest tonight! Please give a round of applause for K2, from the fics of the same name!"

The trumpets sounded and music played as Keitaro 'K2' Urashima walked in, waving his hands towards the clapping audience. He wore a brown jacket with a white undershirt, brown pants and brown shoes.

Keitaro walked towards Aaron, and shook his hand. Aaron motioned Keitaro to sit, and the two men sat down, and their sides slightly across each other.

"Welcome, K2, to my show," Aaron greeted.

"Thank you. Glad to be here," Keitaro replied with a slight smile.

"So… here's my first question," Aaron looked towards him. "How's Budss as a writer?"

"As a writer do you mean on how he makes his stories or how he directs them?" he asked.

"Both."

"Well… this is a bit hard to answer... At first, when he showed me the concept of the story, I was quite impressed. Of course I wanted to do it... you rarely have Keitaro, me, as a character doing or acting like a supernatural agent with a touch of Bond.

"Most of the ideas he came up with were quite fabulous..." Keitaro continued, "though my complaint before was he didn't exactly give much narrative life to his first stories, but it was fine since he wrote something quite original and catchy."

"He still needs to be careful in my opinion, of letting DEL dominate his stories. I mean look at me, I'm a damn plot device for a reason," Aaron pointed out.

"That only happened in the Crimson Daylights, and I agree..." Keitaro replied. "He could have worked on it. But think about it... this wasn't exactly K2's mission, but Laharl's. I was just along to protect him. In the end... the whole story was a just a way to launch the next story forward. The Golden Maiden and such."

"So, were you scared shitless by the kugai?" Aaron asked.

"The kugai was something new, so of course I was rather shocked," Keitaro chuckled softly. "I wasn't exactly scared shitless, as you say... but it was scary of course."

"Thanks for the compliment," Aaron smiled. "Nice to know they still got the touch. So what do you think of the current story?"

"A View to a Truth?" Keitaro asked. "Well, for one thing, Buds got inspired. The change of style was quite apparent, and I like it. Gives my character a bit more... character."

Keitaro laughed softly.

"Gives my character more character… a bit redundant, eh?"

"Nah. I've heard worse," Aaron stated. "Speaking of character, where's the sex in this one? It seems like you haven't gotten laid once in this fic."

"Actually, it was written that Kitsune and I got alone in a motel together in the first chapter," Keitaro replied. "But I kinda agree. It's been seven chapters or so, and I haven't even started putting that K2 charm of mines."

He laughed again.

"But seriously, though… I've heard that there will be one with another girl," Keitaro replied. "Most who have read and followe the fic would most likely guess who. Even if there wasn't, its done for a reason. Canon Keitaro isn't exactly someone who sleeps around, so, it would have been really odd to the tenants there if he started to, right?"

"You sir, are a disgrace to man-whores," Aaron announced, earning a laughter from everyone, including Keitaro.

"Well, I wouldn't want to be known as the Keitaro character based on Moore and Brosnan's Bonds, you know," Keitaro replied with a smile. "In some of their movies… all they have to do is wink a little, say a rather corny pun, and they get jumped by the women."

"Hmmm, speaking of Bonds… who's you're favorite Bond?" Aaron asked.

"Well… I like Connery… though I do believe my character and stories were born out of Daniel Craig's version of Bond," Keitaro replied.

"Craig, eh?" Aaron nodded. "Well, Budsy seemed to have a mad-on for Craig. I haven't watched CR yet so I'm withholding judge."

"Yeah, Buds likes Craig a lot," Keitaro nodded. "I kind of like him too, but for me, original is still the best."

"Alright," Aaron nodded. "So, of all the women in the fics thus far, which one was the most enjoyable? And if you could have a night with any woman, who would you pick?"

Keitaro laughed a moment.

"Oh… that's a hard question!" he chuckled. "Why not all of them? I mean, all of them are beautiful women. Even the Golden Maiden and Shinata. If I could, why not right?"

He smiled. "But if you're asking which girl I like more as a character, I'd have to go for Mutsumi. Second would be Kitsune."

"Faithful to the last. And you'd probably be a dried corpse by morning if you tried all of them at once. Unless you're part shikima?" Aaron asked, giving a small smile towards the audience, making them laugh.

Keitaro looked curiously for a moment before he laughed along with everyone. "Shkima... oh, no..." he stated. "Don't give Buds any ideas! I'd die if I find out I'm actually part Shkima or even going to sleep with a Shkima girl. From Crimson Daylights, you'd think Bunny girls are quite extreme... they don't touch the Shkima."

Aaron just laughed harder. "Too late now!" he stated with a smile. "I'm surprised though you got the reference. Anyway, since you won't remember this anyway, I'll make a hypothosis. You are probably only half human. Savanti and that vampire lord said you had unusually high spirit energy. That could be explained by being a hyrbid."

Keitaro just smiled.

"Ah well... yes, I've heard those rumors as well, but..." he approached Aaron. "Just for you... I'll say no. I'm pure human. But... A View to a Truth not only speaks about the truth about the Universe, but also a truth about me. Buds knew the title was a keeper when he had the story in mind."

"I'm impressed you're taking the truth about the multiverse so well," Aaron commented. "Just pray you never end up in the marvel-verse." He shuddered.

"Oh yeah... I've read some comics," Keitaro nodded then laughed. "It's amazing how many super powered characters are there and not blow up the world."

"Well, we've got to wrap this up soon. So, any questions for me?" Aaron asked.

"Well... one. Buds told me you got... six wives?" Keitaro asked.

"He's a lying bastich. It's 3, 4 later on," Aaron replied. "You actually met one of them. Remember that delightful teal-haired tomboy?"

Keitaro laughed.

"Yes, I do," he nodded. "The reason why I asked was because Buds and I had a bet. He won it."

"What did he win?" Aaron asked.

"Nothing. Its one of those cheesy bets where the price is nothing but a few laughs," Keitaro smiled. "Inside jokes. Not even supposed to reveal them."

Aaron laughed. "Well, that's all the time we have. Thanks for coming on the show. And pray that we never have to fight."

"Ditto," Keitaro stated with a smile, and stood up.

Both shook hands as the music started to play once again. The crowd cheered, and Keitaro waved at them as he went for the exit. Everything fades to black.

* * *

_Well… that's all folks. Enjoy:P _


	9. Chapter 9

* * *

**09 - **_The Black Sword_

* * *

The technician god was still nervous, sweating generously. He had been returned to his post after a while, though warned by the Seraph that if Miyabi was not found soon, he'd be facing the full brunt of her Punishment. His fingers grabbed the edge of the table hard, and his eyes darted towards the Yggdrasil monitor. He took a few deep breathes.

He stayed almost motionless for a few moments, looking around without much thought. He wiped his tired and wet eyes and blinked multiple times. For some reason, his eyes began to hurt now.

A beep got him out of his stupor. He looked towards his monitor, and spotted an incoming mana transmission, encrypted. He knew who it was. Without any pause, he typed into his keyboard, and began to do the necessary connections. He rerouted the transmission on multiple lines, and zigzagged it across many ports as a precaution. Satisfied, he opened the line, and grabbed an earpiece connected to the line he had made.

"Hello…?" he asked.

"It's me…" a female voice replied.

* * *

In another room, far away and isolated, Laharl nodded as the Seraph smiled at him. 

"Seems your ploy worked my friend," the Seraph said.

"Good," Laharl looked towards the other people in the room.

There was Nitasha and that goddess who for all things that had passed, was still looking at him with a glare. As always, Laharl chose to ignore her. There were many gods and goddesses who detest him because of his demon lineage. It goes with the territory. But at least the other technician gods in the room were very professional, and didn't show any animosity in his presence.

"We're starting the trace," one of them stated. Laharl let them do their work. They knew what they were doing.

They had been following their target ever since he was let go, and tapped on his Yggdrasil port with a hard line. He didn't seem to notice it as he was much more concerned for his welfare. That allowed the technicians in this room to follow his precautions closely. They were able to trace in which line he was connecting to, and could now listen in.

Here comes the hard part; maintaining connection without letting the two parties know they were being eavesdropped.

"_It's me…" _

"_Miyabi… thank gods. Miyabi… they're after me! The Seraph…" _

"_Did you tell them where I am?" _

"_No… but…" _

"_Good. Don't tell 'em where I am, sweety."_

Laharl studied the tones of voices used. The god definitely is head over heels with the goddess. While he never really had any real problems with beings falling in love, he was a bit teed of by the god's stupidity. Her tone already indicated that she was only using him and probably wouldn't even give a damn to what happens to him in the end.

"_Of course not… but its getting dangerous! They are after you and me!" _

"_Don't worry about it. Once everything's done and gone, everything will be alright." _

"Do those two actually believe that?" Seraph asked to no one in particular. Laharl replied.

"Probably not the god," he muttered. "Miyabi though… maybe she's lying, trying to fool him. She still seems to think quite clearly."

"_You're not just saying that are you?" _

"_Of course not… would I ever abandon you?" _

There was a moment of pause. For one wild moment, Laharl wondered if the god finally realized how foolish he was being, but was not expecting much. His half baked speculation was proven (as expected) wrong when the god just seemed to reply positively.

"_No… of course not. I'm being silly." _

"_You are." _

"_So… love… what can I do for you?" _

"_I'm going to need another mana charged item. I am getting closer to him… one more world… and he's mine." _

Laharl's eyes widened for a moment. Him? K2? The goddess was looking for him? If she is, how does she know where he went? Even he didn't know where he sent Keitaro, using the Fate Alter by accident. The gods couldn't even calculate the rifts and fluctuations of data fast enough to get a sure answer. So how was she tracking him? Or was she just being delusional?

"_How do you know…?"_

"_I burned a mark on his soul." _

A Soul Burn? Laharl looked towards his phone, accessing the photos and notes that KU had sent him days ago as the result of her scanning of the soul-less body of K2. Of all the injuries that Keitaro had received, there was one particular injury, a burn mark, shaped like a palm of a feminine hand that he and KU found rather odd.

There were no other burn marks or evidence that showed the injury was actually done during battle. If it was fire, why didn't it burn his clothes? Magic? If so, what kind? Ki? What for? Laharl had a lot of theories, each one getting more and more ridiculous. Without any real evidence, he didn't know what to make of it. Until now.

"Soul Burn…" Laharl whispered.

If that was the case, then it makes perfect sense on how Miyabi was tracking Keitaro! A Soul Burn is a sure fire way of accurately tracking and finding a target. It consists of wounding a soul of a being, superficially, and marking them. Once marked, the marker would be able to track him or her down, no matter how far apart they were.

"_Okay Miyabi… give me a moment."_

There was a pause. Then, one of the technicians suddenly declared that there was another illegal mana transfer and he began to track that one as well. Laharl rubbed his palms together. If everything goes well, the capture of Miyabi can open doors in which would help them find Keitaro or give clues on where he could have gone. There must be no mistakes!

"How close are we?" the goddess asked towards one of the technician gods.

"Almost there."

"_There you go, Miyabi. Just a few blocks. It's a packet of plastic playing cards with sword designs." _

"_I knew I could count on you, sweety. Now we can…" _

Another pause. Unlike the first one (made by the god), there was an unnatural feel to it. Laharl's eyes narrowed, and looked towards the Yggdrasil screen uncomfortably. His gut told him something went wrong.

"_Did you hear that?" _

"_Hear what?" _

Laharl unconsciously snapped his fingers, and placed his hand over his mouth. "She knows," he muttered.

The goddess and the Seraph looked at him, and towards the technicians, who suddenly were typing on their keyboards fast.

"I'm sorry!" one of them stated. "I… I got too careless! I dove in too fast with the transfer connection!"

"Correct it then," the Seraph started, looking calm, but Laharl knew that deep inside, he was anxious. His forehead was shining a bit with a thin layer of sweat. He couldn't blame him. Miyabi was right at the palm of their hands… and if anything went wrong, she'd probably disappear and not contact the technician god again.

"_Are you sure this is a safe line?" _

"_I took all precautions…" _

"_I'm going." _

"_O… okay. Just…" _

She didn't listen, and just cut the connection. Laharl groaned softly, and everyone around the room along with him. He looked towards the Seraph who looked utterly disappointed.

"Were we able to get a lock on?" Laharl asked towards him.

The Seraph looked towards the technicians, and they shook their heads.

"We were able to narrow the possible universes to thirty… but nothing specific," one of them replied.

"We can call the Valkyiries…" the goddess declared, but was cut off by the Seraph.

"No, it will be too late. She knew the connection was being listened to, and is probably on her way to get the mana charged item to get out of there."

"Is there any way to trace where she'll go towards next?" Laharl asked.

"No… it's not that easy," one of the technicians replied. "Dimensional warping fluctuates data in an excess due to high outbursts of energy. The best thing we can do is narrow down the estimated courses… but even then, there are such a large number of possible universes where she might be that finding her would be like finding a needle in a haystack!"

"A needle in a needle stack," the Seraph corrected. "A needle stands out in a haystack."

Laharl looked at him in amazement. "You still find it in you to crack a joke?"

"My dear friend… I was not joking," the Seraph stated. His face was serious. "I was stating how difficult it is going to be to find her now."

Laharl nodded, and sat down in one of the empty chairs, and sighed deeply. What now? He couldn't think of anything else up. Everyone around him also seemed a bit somber. Silence emanated from the room. What else was there to say?

After a moment, a beep cut the silence of the room, and one of the technicians looked towards his Yggdrasil terminal, and began to type. Most of them could already guess what it was; high concentrations of mana suddenly exploding, and then spreading throughout the universes. They could pinpoint where Miyabi had been, but what use would that be now? She was gone, and they were no where near finding where she had moved than where K2's soul had gone.

"Sir… high amounts of mana being used for inter-dimensional warp," the technician said. "Originating from Universe 1234223. It's spreading from Alpha to Centurion Universes. Total amount of a hundred thousand of them."

"It's going to take a long time to narrow down a number that large," the Seraph muttered. "And even if we will find, Miyabi may find a way to transfer to another world."

"Why is she going from world to world?" Nitasha suddenly asked, earning a look from everyone. She blushed a bit at the attention she was getting, but didn't look anymore than being slightly flustered. "I mean… she is cut from the Yggdrasil, so we cannot exactly track her down. So, why is she risking revealing herself or give clues where she might have gone by going from one world to another?"

Laharl looked at the goddess like she grew a new head. That was probably one of the smartest questions he ever heard from her. "From what I could deduce, she's looking for him… and by him, she prolly means the agent K2," he replied.

"How does she know where he is?" she asked.

"Soul Burn," Laharl replied. "Heard it earlier."

"Ah… then why not cross reference the data of possible places where Miyabi might have gone to the data we have on the possible places where the agent K2's soul had gone?" Nitasha asked.

The Seraph and Laharl looked at each other. Both cracked a rather small smile, and looked back towards Nitasha. That wasn't a half bad procedure!

Nitasha looked towards the two smiling back at her. She fidgeted a bit nervously. "What?" she asked. "Not good?"

"Its brilliant," the Seraph suddenly stated. He looked towards the technicians, and said, "You heard her. Collaborate with those technicians looking for the agent K2's soul. If there are similarities, we can check and cross reference the possible universes where they both are. Now."

"Yes, Seraph," the technicians stated, and began to type on their consoles.

Laharl looked away for a moment, took a deep breathe. He had worried when Miyabi had felt the connection being tampered and cutting it off but if he was correct, and due to Nitasha's sudden brilliance, there may be hope yet. They can find Miyabi and hopefully, K2, in one swift stroke.

* * *

Motoko looked at Keitaro and he looked back at her. Such words. 'I am not leaving you alone'. 

Keitaro rarely said those words to anyone, but for Motoko, it fit him. Everything came back to her… his first arrival, the many ways he'd get in her wrath and suffer her divine punishment. The many months of seeing him working the dorm, him being perverted (which she reflected after doing the divine punishment, were more leaned towards accidents than malicious intents). It was a steady sequence that slowly warmed him to her.

Then came his subtle change the day he got injured. He never was the same after that.

Kitsune told them he was really depressed, and his outlook of life changed. He got a bit colder and tended to avoid the tenants, but when time came, he would revert to his old rather selfless self when needed. Like right now. And she didn't like it.

"I don't need your pity," she cried softly and looked down again. "Just leave me alone."

Keitaro didn't talk, didn't move. He looked towards the young vulnerable woman with a sort of sad expression. The rain poured harder and her clothes were now drenched. The white parts were now semi-transparent but his eyes were solely on her face.

After a few moments of silence, Motoko felt him move. She looked up, and saw him go beside her and lean on the wall. His arm holding the umbrella shielded her from the rain. She didn't feel any relief, but more anger and bitterness swelling inside her. She looked at him, and for a moment Keitaro thought she was going to give him quite a tongue lashing, only for her to pause, and stop altogether. Her tears poured out again.

"Why don't you leave?" she asked, barely audible. "I am nothing to you."

"You're wrong."

Motoko glared at him, her teeth clenching. "Wrong!?" she demanded. "I'm not feminine, I'm not attractive, and I'm nothing but a swordswoman and can't do anything else! I don't even fit in this… this 'ludicrous' outfit as you say!"

"I spoke the truth. The Motoko I know and like is someone who holds her head up high," Keitaro reasoned. "She is disciplined… maybe a bit temperamental and quite biased against the opposite sex… but that is the charm of Motoko Aoyama."

She looked at him for a moment. He just gave her a small, slightly sad smile.

"She isn't someone who hides behind a fake smile… or tries to impress us by wearing such an outrageous outfit that wouldn't even suit her," Keitaro continued. "She's a woman warrior. Nothing else."

Motoko looked back down, her forehead on her knees. "Well I am not a warrior anymore. I am useless."

"You can be…" Keitaro muttered, earning him a look from the distraught woman. "I met your sister again."

"M… my s… sister?" Motoko asked, confused.

"Yeah. She said she'll give you a chance to earn your status back," Keitaro walked and squatted in front of her (in a rather painful manner as his injured leg could only allow him to bend so far) so their eyes would meet. He gazed at her strongly. He wanted her to know he was with her on this. She is needed to get them both out of this mess.

"How?" she asked.

"Next week, starting tomorrow, she's expecting us at Kyoto," Keitaro replied. "She wants us to best her in combat."

"B… best her in combat?" Motoko panicked. "Us? It can't be done! She's the best Shinmeiryuu practitioner there ever was, best of the long line of Aoyama's!" She shivered, quite painfully in Keitaro's view. "How can she expect us to best her? She already proved a point in the bathes! You're injured for kami's sake! And a weapon… where can I find a weapon that would replace mines?"

Keitaro gently slapped her, not too hard, but with just enough force to get her out of mumbling mode. She faced him, her eyes firing up a bit, but still more lost than anything else. He held her by the chin, and stared at her teary eyes.

"Are you a coward, Aoyama?" he asked coldly. "A dishonorable coward who'd tuck tail and run after facing a difficult obstacle?"

"N… no… but…"

"But what?" Keitaro stared at her hard. "You faced your sister, and you lost… not only a battle, but your sword, and your life as a warrior. Fine, shit happens, yes. But you will be doing yourself a big disfavor for giving up now! Do you want to live like this? A disgraced warrior who pretends to be someone she isn't because life dealt her a bad hand?"

"N…no…" she replied, looking away from his hard eyes. "But…"

Keitaro ignored her last word. "Do you want to continue living as a warrior? Live with a sword, and continue your martial studies?" he asked.

"Yes… but…"

"No buts Aoyama!" Keitaro poked her shoulder hard, still staring at her hard. "My teacher once told me… 'You want something, you go and get it. Simple.'"

Motoko looked at him, her eyes clearing a bit. His logic was quite sound, though at the back of her head, she argued that he couldn't possibly understand her situation… how could he? He never trained to be a warrior to follow-up her sister, who was already the best that her family could produce! How in the world would he be able to understand?

But… even with such thoughts, his voice sounded very reassuring. Like she could believe him.

Keitaro stood up, and lowered his hand towards the young woman. His eyes were still on her, but it lost its coldness, replaced by warmth and support. "Come on, Motoko. Let's get you home. This weather doesn't suit you. Nor do they suit your clothes."

The joke was largely ignored by Motoko as she grabbed on his hand and helped herself up. As she finally got on her feet, she just grabbed Keitaro on the side, and wrapped her arms around him. She held him rather tightly.

The man looked slightly confused, but didn't say anything. He automatically wrapped his arm around her waist. He could feel the wet fabric of her maid uniform wetting his shirt. He could also feel her shiver passing through his body. He gave her a slight smile, something he didn't know whether she noticed, and asked gently, "Let's go home, alright?"

She just nodded.

* * *

The trip back home was unexciting, but the rain was still going strong and didn't show signs of weakening. Keitaro paid no mind to the other people who looked at him oddly. Yes… it was odd to see a grown man with a cast supporting a beautiful woman in a French maid outfit. Motoko held on to him tightly, and the only support Keitaro had at that time was his aluminum crutch. His other arm, which held the umbrella, was around her, covering them both, shielding them from the rain. 

While at first glance, Keitaro seemed to be hampered by the woman, she didn't drag her feet, which he was rather thankful for. He just wished she just lifted herself up more… he had a broken leg, after all, and she wasn't exactly as light as feather pillows.

Thankfully, they never met any of the tenants when they arrived at the dorm, and Keitaro had sneaked in the woman without detection, cast and all. It was straight to the manager's room, where he told her to stay and get dressed and handed her a towel to wipe herself dry. Respecting her privacy and choosing to make himself useful, Keitaro left his room, and went towards the attic where his aunt had told him where the sword was located.

It was dusty, understandably because it was not a place that would be cleaned thoroughly or even daily. There were many scattered toys and items around. Some were packed neatly on boxes, held by some rope, while the others had exploded outwards, spilling their contents. Keitaro ignored those, and looked straight for the sword.

He found it moments later.

It was a rather odd sword. The hilt was black, with faint white traces cloth for design. The hilt guard was also black, along with its scabbard. Keitaro took hold of it for a moment, and there suddenly was a trace of interest in the air. He shook his head. Somehow, inside him, he felt the sensation of wanting to unsheathe the weapon. He pondered about it.

For a few minutes he contemplated in following his rather odd feelings before he shook his head again. This was no time for being silly. He took a few moments before he exiting the attic and proceed back to his room, where he spotted Motoko drying of her hair. He smiled as he spotted the shirt she wore.

"Its fine borrowing my clothes, Motoko," he stated jokingly. "As long as you wash it before you return it."

"I… I'm sorry…" Motoko muttered in a low tone, and her hands dove towards the buttons, to remove them, when Keitaro stopped her.

"It's a joke," he muttered with a wry grin. This girl was really down if she was actually going to strip in front of him.

"Oh…" she said.

After a pregnant pause, Keitaro shook his head, and tried to remove the embarrassing air around them. "Now, now… we have better things to worry about," he stated with a small smile. He scooted his way beside her, and sat down. He offered her the sword. "Here you go. Will this do, Motoko?"

The woman looked towards the sword she was being offered with a bit of surprise. She looked at him, and then back at the sword. She unsheathed it halfway, slowly, and then examined it.

For a moment, Keitaro's odd feelings returned in full force. His eyes went at once towards the blade… it was also black. It was definitely the oddest thing he ever seen. But judging by the thickness of the metal, it's probably still usable in combat. For another moment, he wanted to hold the blade… it's as if it's calling out to him. He shook it out of his system again.

"It's… it's a beautiful blade…" Motoko whispered. "I… I cannot accept this, Urashima…"

"What are you talking about?" Keitaro asked. "Of course you can."

"But… it's majestic," she reasoned as she sheathed the weapon. "It's probably an old family heirloom. I can't…"

"Yes you can," he replied to her, a bit stronger this time. "I am giving it to you. I hope it will help you in your battle against your sister so you can get back your status at school."

There was another moment of pause… before she burst out unexpectedly. Keitaro found himself suddenly thrown towards the floor as Motoko's whole weight found itself on top of him. She cried freely on his chest, as if her earlier tears weren't a true indication of her worries. The young man didn't know what else to do. He whispered a sigh, and patted the poor young woman in the head with his hand, his other arm wrapping itself on her waist.

"Why are you being nice to me?" she cried out, muffled by his shirt. "What did I do to deserve this? I was bad to you… I treated you horribly… I insulted you many times, and yet… when I'm in trouble, you didn't kick me out even if you could. You didn't even insult me, or humiliate me. You're even helping me! Why? Why are you being so nice?"

Why indeed? Motoko in this world and in his were not much different. She was a student of the Shinmeiryuu, last name Aoyama. She was biased against men, and would probably have not hesitated to skewer him in half if he put a toe over the line. But… was that really how he perceived the woman now?

For the past month or so, he had seen her with a different light. She showed that she cared for him a rather good deal, visiting him at times (not as much as Mutsumi, mind) in the hospital. She wasn't overly hostile at him (she was just protective of the 'anemic' girl when she visited) but she never threatened him, nor looked out to see if he would step over her line to justify what Motoko in his world would consider as punishment (he still remembered how she and Naru played punching bag with Laharl for accidentally coming in the bathes).

Perception… that was the key, Keitaro thought. In his old world, the two were avoiding each other at all times. The Motoko of his world knew she could not push him around because he wasn't exactly a weak willed male who would bend for her ways nor did Keitaro give a reason to encourage her to confront him. They were two neutral parties laced with gasoline. A spark would cause a fire. That's how their relationship was.

But now, he was beginning to see Motoko in a differently. She was not some broad who acted like she had a pencil shoved up her behind and had fluctuating tempers. She had her own problems too. She worried about her future and the responsibilities of taking over a rather large school. Her bias stemmed from the feelings of abandonment of her sister and mentor who married a man. The same woman who just a day before, had cut her sword in half, effectively stripping her of her right to take over the school.

Keitaro could sympathize with that. He could relate even. In his whole life, he always put it in his head to people were meant to be alone. Anyone would abandon him. First was Mi-chan… then came his sensei. In his business… you really cannot totally depend on the people around you. It kept him alive. It was his armor.

It was easy to know… easy to memorize. Stay unattached. Stay unemotional. Like a robot. But being human, it was not so easy to act upon. Countless times, the old memories of his tragic past still resurface, and he would always find solace in Kitsune's embrace and body. Sex was his drug, and he wasn't afraid to use her like that. Its not that he disliked the girl… she is a wonderful woman, but he didn't open up to her.

He just didn't want to get hurt.

"Keitaro…" Motoko whimpered as she slowly moved her body. Keitaro could feel her breasts on his chest, poking through the fabric. He looked up, emotionless. He knew what was going to happen. He waited for it.

Her face was still wet from the tears. Her lips were soft when they touched his. Her kiss was strong, imposing. Her tongue entered his mouth without invitation. Keitaro just let her be. He kissed her back, his tongue lashing in retaliation. She still cried… the poor girl. She cried.

Her hands moved swiftly towards her shirt, slowly unbuttoning it, exposing her chest to him. His excitement grew as he felt her naked flesh. He wanted to take out his shirt as well, but was spared the action when Motoko just ripped his in half, probably ruining the buttons. But he didn't care. Her body was all in his mind now.

She acted like she wanted to swallow him whole. He let her. She was really an inexperienced woman. For a moment, he wondered why he wasn't the one leading, but then he remembered that his leg was injured and useless here. She seemed to notice the same thing, because she was the one who moved for him.

She sat up for a moment, and removed the shirt she wore, fully exposing herself to him. She was beautiful in Keitaro's opinion. Her pale skin was smooth, unblemished. She didn't even pause to give him time to enjoy the view, but attacked his mouth once again. Keitaro enjoyed every bit of her action. She was learning quite fast.

Keitaro separated his kiss, and went for her neck. She moaned gratefully, though it was rather dry. Keitaro paid no mind. Her skin tasted wonderful. How long had he been going on without this? The damn world… the damn injury… the damn women here who act so differently… those were the reasons why he had to hold on this long, but not anymore. He would get his fill, and so would Motoko.

Or rather, that was his train of thought until she opened her eyes. Keitaro saw them; brown eyes that were missing depth. In his opinion, she looked like a marionette. His heart ached. He shook his head. He couldn't do this. Not like this. Not now anyway.

"Motoko… stop," Keitaro muttered softly, yet strongly. "We can't do this."

"What do you mean?" she mumbled as she paused for a moment, looking at him. "This is what you want right? I can feel it."

"What you feel is an entirely independent being with a mind of its own," Keitaro muttered, half joking, half serious.

"Then what's wrong?" Motoko asked, going once again for his mouth, but his hand stopped her. The two looked at each other for a moment.

Keitaro lowered his eyes, sending a silent yet strong message to Motoko who finally desisted. She looked at him, and her expression hurt. It hurt him a bit too.

"Very well…" she muttered, coldly. "It is not me you want. I understand."

"Motoko…"

She stood up abruptly, and grabbed the shirt she had discarded earlier. Without any word, she went towards the exit, buttoning her upper clothing she burrowed from Keitaro's wardrobe. The young agent looked at the door where she had left and shook his head. He didn't know now if he should have just gone on with it.

His actions were noble… but it left a bitter aftertaste which he swallowed whole heartedly. He convinced himself what he did was necessary. The woman was already shattered, and if they continued what Motoko had started, she'd been worse off. No… he was right in stopping her. They didn't need any complications.

With that thought, Keitaro decided to hide the marriage document. Showing it to her could be disastrous. He needed her to be in tip top shape, physically and mentally. No distractions. He needed her to be as sharp as a sword if he was going to implement his plan. She is a tool to get to that damn woman.

The plan was rather simple. He'll visit that witch, Yuko, and convince her to grant him a wish. That wish would allow him to train together with Motoko. He studied and looked how the two women fought the day before in the bathes. He knew why Motoko had lost, and the advantages of that bitch she had for a sister. He was going to exploit what he knew to Motoko. That Tsuruko woman wouldn't know what would hit her.

Coldness washed over his body. He felt the calm condensing in him… like alcohol slowing his heartbeat, relaxing his muscles. He took a deep breathe. Yes… he had no time for his own petty feelings on this. What was important now was the battle coming up a week after tomorrow.

Still… he could not forget Motoko's face as she stood up abruptly, probably angrily as he stopped her. But like doing a job, he pushed it out of his head.

He had better things to worry about now.

**To Be Continued…**

_Another chapter done. _

_Readers, I wanna thank you for reading. Drop in a review if you like. _

_Reviewers, questions are still a welcome. :P Thank you. _

_For Mr. **Orangeman727 **thanks for the compliment. Means a lot. _

_XD And no extras today, sorry. _

_UPDATE: Finally! accepts! Enjoy!  
_


	10. Chapter 10

* * *

**10 – **_The Nature of Fate_

* * *

Keitaro had skipped dinner (regretting the fact a few minutes earlier because Shinobu was the one who cooked this time). He was limping on his way back to Yuko's house. He had no difficulty remembering it, even though it was dark when he last visited; it was one of the few things he got from his training.

When asked why he was going out, he explained had to meet someone. Kitsune, Sarah and Su didn't seem to mind as their eyes were more geared towards the delicious looking (and abundant) dinner. Shinobu, bless the girl, looked rather disappointed, and had asked him to stay. While tempted, Keitaro had other plans, and politely declined.

Motoko hadn't spoken, nor looked at him since the incident on the manager's room. Keitaro had to sigh. He wanted to speak to her in private, maybe try to do something… but the problem was, he didn't know exactly what he did wrong. Keitaro knew, for one, it wasn't about the coupling they were supposed to get into. Her last sentence though, had given him an insight.

'It's not me you want.'

What was he supposed to say? He wants to enjoy having a good squeeze, especially with a very fine looking woman such as herself, but couldn't because he wasn't sure if she was in her actual right state of mind to even do something like that?

Women, he thought rather darkly. They complicate matters worse than fermentation. At least Kitsune kept things rather simple.

Keitaro shook his head. Now was not the time. Treat it like a job. Don't make your thoughts jumbled and more complicated than it is already. He thought long and hard with those two sentences in his mind, and relaxed after taking a deep breathes.

Besides… he already arrived. And judging by the slight show of light in the interior, Yuko was home.

The front door suddenly opened, surprising Keitaro a bit. Apparently, she was expecting him as well. She smiled, and greeted him rather warmly.

"Good evening, Urashima-san."

Keitaro looked at her, and suddenly chuckled. Why was he surprised? Without answering, he entered her humble abode. He took of his sandal, and placed it besides another pair of sandals. Keitaro noticed it was the same brand he was wearing, and apparently, the same size. He wondered briefly if someone else was in the house.

He followed her towards the hall where they had talked before. But unlike before, the hall was changed to something a bit more professionally. Last time, the only thing Keitaro had noted was a chair where he sat, and a rather long sofa, in which Yuko would slide down at times during the conversation.

Not anymore.

In the middle of the room was a table, along with two rigid and tall chairs. She sat on one side, and offered him a seat on the other. He did so.

After he had settled down did he feel the full force of the difference of the mood in the room… sure, nothing except the table and chairs were changed, but he knew that Yuko somehow knew he was coming, and prepared this room as a means to settle business and not for informal chit-chat.

He felt the wariness coming at him again, but let it be. The woman was dangerous no doubt. He was a bit glad she was not against him. At least for now.

"Hmmm… were you expecting me?" he asked, though he probably already knew the answer. He just wanted to start everything a bit slowly. A bit of light conversation perhaps.

"Yes," she replied with a slight smile. "I hope you like the setting; took me all morning to get it right. As you've no doubt remember, I told you I had a shop in which I grant wishes to those who need them. I tried to emulate the look of it. I think I did a rather good job.

"I'd also have offered you some tea… but… I'm afraid my assistant takes care of those things back at my shop," she smiled disarmingly now. "You know, you're quite interesting, Mr. Urashima. You've adjusted quite well in this world."

"More or less," Keitaro replied, his head shifting a bit to the right as if to stretch out a kink. "I'm flattered that you find me interesting. I was a bit afraid I wouldn't find you anymore. It's been a month since we last met, after all."

She moved her hands slowly, caressing her own cheek. Her eyes stared at his for a moment.

"So… shall we continue this game, or shall we get straight down to business?" Yuko asked seriously. "I don't mind the small talks, but I have a feeling you might want to eat dinner soon."

Has she been watching him? Keitaro asked that question silently on his head. Would he dare ask directly, or do a rather roundabout way of doing so?

"I can hold my hunger," he then replied truthfully. "I had a decent snack with an interesting swordswoman." He looked at her. Here it comes… "I suppose you know her, you might have watching me after all."

"But of course," she replied easily. "It was the most entertaining scenario of the day."

Keitaro snorted a bit. Entertaining? Well, at least he got the theory out about Yuko watching him. He probably didn't even need to sneak that last sentence he said to find that out. She seemed in a cordial mood. "I guess you can see why I have come here."

"I can take a guess," she replied. "But of course, it's meaningless unless you yourself say it to me. It's the nature of wishes."

"Fine… let's just get on with it," Keitaro muttered. "I want you to cure my leg."

The injured leg was one of his banes since his arrival at this world. While he had no qualms in limping around, an injured leg would spell disaster in battle. To train effectively for a week, he'd need his functions to be at a hundred percent.

The woman looked at him for a moment. Her eyes seemed to bore to his. Keitaro looked back without emotion, though his head was thinking, trying to guess what the probable response the woman would give. What would he do if she refused? And remembering their conversation before, what price would he pay for such a wish?

"I don't particularly ask this sort of question, but why the leg?" Yuko asked. "It's a fairly simple task… its not even worth going to me for this. There are many mage healers around this world in which you can ask."

Keitaro leaned back on his chair, taking a moment before replying.

"I didn't know there were also mages here," he said softly. "Even if I did, if I remember their ways correctly, there'd be a higher chance that they'd try to erase my memory of their existence if I tried to ask them for help."

"You could tell them you are an agent trained in the field of the supernatural," she reasoned.

"Not in this world," Keitaro countered back. "And for your second point… I know it's a simple wish, but what if I wish for something, like let's say, the ability to be the best fighter in existence, what kind of price would I pay in return?"

Yuko seemed to nod. "Good point. I guess you were listening to me last time."

"I was. Anyway, if I wished for that, what good would it do me if my leg was still injured?"

"You could always ask for another wish," she replied.

"Would you give me another?" Keitaro asked back.

The woman smiled, and leaned towards the table. Her slender hands touched the sides of her cheek, and her eyes narrowed. Keitaro got the feeling she was egging him somewhere, and just seemed to enjoy watching his reaction. He still tried to keep a stone face. He didn't want to give her any kind of advantage.

"No," she replied after a while.

Keitaro smirked a bit. "Thought so."

Yuko Ichihara looked at the young man for a moment before she slowly stood up. He too was about to rise, but her hand motioned him to stop. He did so, and watched the woman suddenly go towards one of the big drawers in the room. She opened it, and began to search for something.

After a minute or so, she was still rustling on the contents of the drawer, when she spoke. "Are you curious on why I would not grant you anymore wishes?"

"Should I be?" he asked back.

She paused for a moment, and then replied, her back still on him, "Truthfully, I should not even indulge you on wishes. Technically speaking… you're an alien to this world."

The woman seemed to have finally found what she was looking for. Her smile was still present as she turned back at Keitaro, holding on what appeared to be a shiny silver spoon. Keitaro's face broke its stone mask, and an apt expression of curiosity appeared on his face.

She ignored his expression.

"And to make it worse, your presence is already ominous in this world's future," she continued as she approached the table.

"What do you mean?" Keitaro asked.

"Well, this world has a rather strict… timeline," Yuko explained slowly, as if trying to figure out what to say next. "The world's existence depends on a handful of characters, and the actions they do. Until you're arrival, everything was, for the lack of better word… peachy."

Keitaro's lips formed a smile as she said the last word. Peachy? "So… you're saying this world is already fated to lead from point A, which, let's say is the beginning of time, to point B, the end of time?" he asked.

"Time, future and destiny aren't as simple as a straight line," Yuko replied softly. "I heard one man said, not in accurate verbose, mind, that time is not like a river that flows swift and sure in one direction. Time is an ocean in a storm. That is true in a sense. Every being's future always depends on his or her actions. Some actions are easier to read than others."

"Easier to read? Like predictions?" he asked.

"Yes."

"If I take that to consideration, then wouldn't, philosophically speaking, choice not matter?" Keitaro asked. "I mean… if people can just go to fortune tellers to have their futures read… and if accurate, then what's the point in choosing? What is the point of living, for the matter?"

"Do not confuse prediction with fortune-telling," Yuko told him sternly, yet softly. "Hmmm… how can I explain this easily? Picture a man who goes to an Oracle. The Oracle predicts that he will die in a few minutes. He goes home, so worried, he does not see a truck coming, and kills him. Here's an interesting question… would the man have died if he had not heard the prediction?"

"Honestly… I don't think there's a way to answer that question," Keitaro replied. The possibilities are a bit overwhelming. Even if he didn't believe the prediction, and wasn't worried, he could have still been run-over the truck. Of course, there is still the possibility that if he was alerted, he could have foreseen the truck, and dodged it at the last minute, and live.

"Of course not," Yuko nodded. "The important fact is he died. The questions of possibilities are as useless as the argument in the existence of God. Whether he exists or not… is it that important? If he existed, would he care if other people think he exists, even more so if he doesn't?"

"But saying that people are fated to do or be like this, and they have no control over it…"

"No, my dear boy," Yuko shook her head. "What you are talking about is fate in terms of those who cannot foresee; the idea of fate as some red string that pulls you into a destiny you have no choice over. But those who can see… they know that 'fate' is nothing more than _h__itsuzen._ People's choices affect their future. Some people can see the choice a being makes… it does not mean that the being is not free to choose, but he just doesn't know the choice he makes or why he does, until he does so."

Yuko finally got near Keitaro, and held out the silver spoon.

"Lift your cast leg…" she ordered gently. Keitaro did as was told. "Yes… now place it in the table. Good."

The young man was confused for a moment. What was she planning? What was with the spoon? He was about to ask, when suddenly, with swift motion, Yuko brought down the spoon like a hammer towards a nail, the nail being his cast.

There was no big explosion of mana… but a slight subtle lingering sensation in the air. Yuko was definitely an accomplished witch just by going with that. Keitaro knew how magic was done, even if he himself didn't know any. The low amount of mana used just to get the job done was a technical skill not even the western mages could hope to have without endless training. And she didn't even depend on papers or additional enchantments to cure his leg, unlike the eastern mages.

The cast fell out, cracked into hundreds of pieces, and fell neatly over the table. Keitaro felt his bone suddenly being secured, fixed, and healed. He slowly brought it back down. He expected some sort of pain when he placed it on the floor without the support of the cast. He was happy to know that it was not the case.

His leg was completely healed.

"Thank you," Keitaro muttered as he stood up steadily. "Though… I may look rather silly, walking home with just one sandal."

"I have a pair I just bought this afternoon," Yuko smiled. "It's on the entrance, just at the right of the single sandal you came in with. It's the same brand. Of course, no additional cost required from you."

Keitaro gave a wry smile. He noticed those sandals earlier. If those were for him (and was not owned by someone else as he thought earlier) then it was obvious that Yuko already predicted his coming, and his wish. He shook his head, his mind suddenly feeling a bit heavy.

Yuko seemed to have read his souring mood, and smiled at him a bit. "My dear boy… don't be let down by the fact I predicted where you would be going to. If you still feel that your freedom would be taken from you just by that, then take it this way: You and I are playing chess. Would it bother you if I was reading your moves?"

"In a sense," he replied. "But this isn't chess. This is the unknown future. If someone seems to know how it goes… then what's really the point?"

"The same can be said about those cute Chinese boxes," she replied. "You know… those intriguing little boxes where you have to unravel it, and reach the center. The future is like that. It takes a long while to reach the center… and the results are usually unrewarding. But it's the process of getting there which makes it all the more worthwhile." She smiled. "That is how those who can see view the future. It's not the results that matter… but the process."

Keitaro looked at her before he shook his head. While she may have said it easily, almost casually, it still felt wrong to him. How would anyone normally feel if someone told them that they could see into their future? He knew. He felt terrible.

Yuko must have seen his plight because she smiled, and added, "Laharl reacted almost the same way."

"Oh?" Keitaro asked back, though not sure if the woman was telling him the truth or not.

"Yes… hence his disdain for being told of his future, no matter how vague," the woman shrugged. "Mind over matter, my dear boy. If you don't want to know, then don't ask. Ignorance is bliss. Simple."

That made some sense. Ignorance is bliss, eh? Well, Keitaro could work with that. It still bothered him, though, knowing that some people seemed to know the future of people through their choices… if that was even true. For all he could know, the woman was lying through her teeth.

But why would she lie? What possibly would she gain by doing that to him now? Putting those questions at the back of his mind, he wondered what he would do now. He could leave, and get himself and Motoko ready for the inevitable battle… but something in his mind bothered him.

Keitaro took a momentary pause, and Yuko herself seemed to welcome his silence, not even speaking out as if she knew that he was thinking something deeply. After a moment, Keitaro finally was able to get his thoughts out.

"How badly am I ruining the 'timeline' as you say?" he asked. "And…" he added hastily, "no details."

Yuko smiled at the last bit. "I'll just say you are not doing any drastic changes then," she replied.

Keitaro nodded at that, but then again, another question popped on his head. He had to stop himself for a moment, his curiosity asking another question he probably didn't want to know the answer to. After a moment of silent contemplation, his curious part won.

"Is the Keitaro in this world supposed to marry Motoko?" he asked.

Yuko looked at him. She seemed to think her answer for a moment before she replied, "Keitaro of this world is to be married."

Keitaro smirked a bit. He knew the reply to this one. "Married to whom?"

"You may not like the answer," Yuko replied.

Keitaro was about to shrug his shoulders, and give a non-committal reply when he realized he'd rather not know. He just nodded, and put the question away from his mind. Besides… he got what he came for. There was no need for any more dilly-dallying.

"Well, thanks a lot," Keitaro said towards the woman as he stood up. "If that's all, I'll be on my way then."

"Just a moment…" Yuko replied, her hand motioning him to stop. "Do not forget about the price of your wish."

"Oh yeah," he nodded. "What is it? Nothing too heavy I hope."

Yuko looked at him with that same enigmatic smile she seemed to normally wear.

"Usually, such a simplistic wish is to be ignored… but since I like to see how it goes after this, the price will be rather simple. Your leg will break again."

Huh? "When?" Keitaro asked. He didn't need his leg to keel on him when he and Motoko are training… or heaven forbid, during their battle with that Tsuruko woman!

"Now that… is a surprise," she smirked. "Wouldn't be fun if you know, now would it?"

Keitaro's eyes narrowed towards the woman, who looked back at him coolly. The two looked at each other challengingly, not backing down. After a moment, he smiled back at her with a touch of annoyance.

What an interesting woman, he thought.

"Fine," he said dryly. "I guess that's all."

He went towards the exit, while he felt Yuko following his steps. They passed through the hall towards the entrance. Keitaro noticed the two sandals again right beside his single lonely sandal. His lips moved slightly up, forming a wry smirk for a moment. Slipping his two feet inside them, he bent down and grabbed his original sandal. He was about to go, when Yuko spoke up suddenly.

"I'm surprised you won't even ask about your… hmmm, how to say this… freezing spells."

Damn the woman… she was definitely intriguing him. Keitaro could only look back at her. She just reminded him of another worry he hadn't taken in full account during his plan thinking: his freezing spells… what is it and what causes them?

K2 realized that in the past few days, he was a bit of an idiot. He overlooked a lot of things… rushed towards the plan of beating that Tsuruko woman when he hadn't fully analyzed his own limitations. He had assumed that he would be able to prepare fully in facing her with Motoko training him. His had thought his leg was his only limitation… but another factor had now crossed his mind.

He cursed his impatience and his rush to show up that Aoyama woman. He was definitely losing his edge.

"What about it?" Keitaro asked, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice. He barely could. She just smiled at him.

"I can't help you anymore but I'll tell you. It's something to do with your own soul. But don't worry. In the near future, you'll find out what causes it. And it will be an unlikely ally in your... well… lets leave it at that."

"Leave it at what, exactly?"

"I shan't say anything anymore, my dear boy," she replied with a smile.

"You're a cruel woman," Keitaro stated with a slight smile. "Maybe I could convince you to share your mind?"

"You're not my type, Mr. Urashima," Yuko stated with a cool smile. She appreciated the try, but shot him down there and then. Keitaro's forehead seemed to nod, and take the rebuke without difficulty. He even cracked a smile.

"Fine then," he replied. He gave her one last look before he strode towards the door, and exited towards the cold, yet comfortable coldness of the night air. He looked back towards the woman before he left, and said, "Good night, Ichihara-san."

Yuko Ichihara watched as the young supernatural agent went on his way. Her fingers reached towards her chin, stroking it gently. Her eyes seemed to sparkle a bit, watching his retreating form. Her smile formed on her face.

"Now… it's all up to you, Mr. K2…" she whispered softly. "How will you hold?"

* * *

The trip home was, again, uneventful, but Keitaro didn't mind one bit. While he still kept looking over his shoulder once in a few whiles so as not to get caught in another trap by some supernatural force (he couldn't take the chance after his vampire encounter before (**1**)), everything was clear all the way back towards Hinata-sou.

His stomach was rumbling quietly. He felt hungry, but he ignored it. He had to get his plan to motion. First step was to get to Motoko.

Her face was naturally surprised when she saw him, and was even more surprised when Keitaro just suddenly grabbed her and dragged her in the room, and closed the door shut. Her protest began to gather air, but he just hushed her with rather ill-manner. Motoko's face grew red with embarrassment, anger, and at the touch of Keitaro's hand.

"Urashma-san, what are yo…" she stopped suddenly when she noticed something. His leg. "How the… your leg!"

"What? I got someone to heal it," Keitaro shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Who?" Motoko asked.

"A mage," he lied slightly.

She suddenly looked flustered. "You… you know about-"

"Yes," he cut her again, with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "My sister is one. She's particularly good in making paper clones."

In truth, Keitaro's adopted sister, K-New, was no more of a mage than he was. Her specialty was disguises… able to become the person completely physically by re-arranging her bone alignment. It was not really healthy to watch how she did so during the beginning, but he got over it after some time.

Keitaro just claimed this to not get her to ask too many questions. After all, it was not important how he got healed, but where they go from here on. He needed her to understand, and be on the same sort of mind as he was. He didn't want her to think about anything else except what to do from here.

"Oh…" she just stated. It was a rather weak reply, but it was good enough for him.

"Look… Motoko… we need to talk," Keitaro started. "Next week, we're going to Kyoto to face your sister. We need to prepare."

The mention of her sister and the prospect of fighting her again paled Motoko's face. Her eyes suddenly looked down, and her hands were meshed together with uncertainty.

Keitaro, for most part, understood her reaction. He had been hoping though that after giving her a new sword, and telling her he'd support her all the way, not to mention the advices he gave to her, she'd have been more courageous and hopeful. Well… at least she wasn't crying, bawling her eyes out, or even moaning about how it's impossible like a little baby as she had earlier.

Keitaro gently touched his hand on her cheeks, and stared at her eyes hard. "Motoko… it's okay," he stated gently. "I'm not so sure about this myself."

She looked at him. "Then why are you helping me?" she asked. "Why… why are you being ni… kind…?"

Motoko had asked a similar question earlier, though she worded herself with something less personal, and more formal. At least now she was stable, and not about to kiss him.

"Why are you helping me?" she asked, this time with more steel on her voice. Her formality tone was once again solid. K2 could see the old Motoko slowly resurfacing.

"Because I want you to…" Keitaro's mind raced. He wanted her to be what? Not being married to him? What would the sappy Keitaro of this world say to her without sounding that he was hiding something?

"I want you to be… happy."

Motoko's eyes moistened a bit when Keitaro finished his sentence. He knew he picked the right word, but he had hoped her eyes wouldn't react in that manner. It was a bit over the top.

Motoko wiped her eyes. She knew she was being silly… but she couldn't help it. The Keitaro in front of her was moving her heart strings, like some harpist with gentle fingers playing a melodious tune. He had a look of a man who would stand beside her without question, yet had an air of mystery around him. She began to resent that Keitaro for a moment.

Where was the weakling she could pick on before? What happened to him?

He changed, that's what. Not completely, but enough to garner her emotions. Was this how her sister felt when she met that no good man of her husband? Was she falling in love?

She shook her head. No… she was being stupid now. Motoko Aoyama was not some school girl who would believe in the notion of love. She knew the truth. Love was nothing but an illusion. Men are nothing but perverts who just want to get into a woman's pants. Or look up their skirts.

Never mind the experience she had with Keitaro before. She blocked all those memories and feelings, numbing her heart. Her return towards God's Cry School was vastly more important than anything. She'll do what it takes to get back there.

Her stomach fluttered painfully at her thoughts, but she ignored that.

Keitaro's lips formed a slight smile as he saw her eyes hardening, glinting with a bit of steel. It seems Motoko was finally becoming more determined. He could not read her thoughts, but he'd probably appreciated her thought process to get to this point.

"What do you propose we do, Urashima-san?" Motoko asked, formal and unemotional.

"Well… since it's going to take place in a week, we have time to prepare," Keitaro stated. "I watched your battle with your sister. I deduced a couple of things."

She scooted a bit closer. "What?"

"She has two distinctive styles," Keitaro replied. "Modes, if you will. During battle, she holds her swords in a sequence that determines what mode she is. One time, her left hand moves more as she twirls the sword in angles, blocking your strikes, and another time, her right hand takes over which seems to move in dead angles and straight motions to strike."

Motoko seemed to nod at this. "Makes sense. My sister, when she was still training, had been using two swords. She used her left for defense, and her right for offense. She was the one that actually invented the Reflective Stance – Dual Style of Shinmeiryuu."

"Really?" Keitaro asked, interested. "Why is she only using one sword now?"

Motoko just shrugged. "She married. She quit… and just settled for one sword."

Keitaro's eyebrow rose as he nodded with understanding. "Alright. Anyway, point is, there's a slight delay in her switch. Every time she switches from defense to offense and vice versa, she always straightens the sword up in front of her. The time she wastes going through that motion is exactly one second."

Motoko took a moment to get that in her head. She reviewed her fight with her sister (with some difficulty), and could see where Keitaro was going with. He was wrong though. It took 1.1 seconds, rounded of to the nearest hundredth of a second. Still, she had to admit, for him to notice that much was quite impressive. Too impressive actually.

"Urashima, your assumptions are quite correct," she stated, her eyes boring to his. "It's odd though. Such an assessment takes a keen eye and some good martial arts training." She motioned his glasses with her eyes, and then towards his body. "I don't think you have good eyesight… or had martial arts training."

"I can see fine with these glasses," Keitaro muttered, his thoughts darkening. What a great time for her to get sharp, eh? With that, he reviewed his situation again, taking clues and references to his past few days here, and mostly towards the old Keitaro's diary, trying to think of anything that would help him in this situation.

Finally, he got one. "Have you seen my drawings?" he asked. "If I had a bad eye, I wouldn't be able to draw that well, now wouldn't I?"

Motoko conceded. "Fine. But… have you had any martial arts training?"

Keitaro was ready for her. "Yes. I took some courses in boxing and Taekwondo when I was a young kid," he stated. While that was true in his case, he wasn't sure if the Keitaro of this world did train in combat at all. But he highly doubted Motoko would know that tidbit.

To even add a bit of insult, he even asked, "How do you think I was able to beat you twice in combat?"

Motoko's cheeks flamed. "You have not beaten me in combat, Urashima!" she exclaimed angrily.

Why would he bring that up? she thought darkly. Besides, his claim was not totally true. First time they ever faced ended up with a tie, and it was only because she was sick with a cold. The second time, he was just lucky, catching her sword coming at him. She ignored the fact that the demonic turtle, Tama, had blocked her strike as well just after Keitaro did his feat.

Keitaro could only chuckle. Her face was priceless. "Fine… I haven't, happy?"

She nodded, though she still looked slightly teed off.

"Anyway… back to the discussion," Keitaro nodded to himself. "Look. We can exploit her slight delay in between offense and defense."

"How?"

"Well… on one on one combat, to exploit something like that, you have to be faster than her," he explained.

"I… I don't think I can," Motoko muttered a bit deeply, her hands going for her chin.

"You don't have to," he stated. "We can both exploit her weakness."

"How?" she asked again.

"Synchronized attack sequences," Keitaro replied. "One of us blocks her initial attack, and the other goes right at her towards the offensive."

Motoko nodded at that. Not a bad idea, in her humble opinion. It could catch her sister off guard, and would definitely exploit her delay from switching to offense to defense. It also would cover both his and her backs…

Suddenly, she looked towards Keitaro, her train of thoughts stopping. Was he actually thinking of joining the fray? She would have to admit, that was probably the stupidest idea she ever heard! A bit brave, but suicidal at worse! Not only does he not have the training or skills to join such a fight, but he'd probably come out more of a liability than an asset!

She shook her head.

"Urashima, I'm sorry, but we can't do that idea," she exclaimed.

"And why is that?" he asked with a slight glint in his eyes.

"You've already seen how my sister fights…" she replied, her eyes moving towards the left to ignore his. "She's a demon. She's very skilled, even after being married. I couldn't even beat her." She paused, and then looked towards Keitaro. "I won't let you risk getting yourself into this."

"It's a bit too late saying that, Aoyama," Keitaro muttered rather darkly. "You got me involved remember?"

Motoko blushed, and nodded. Yes… she did get him involved. Inconsiderately, in fact.

"I'm sorry about that, Keitaro…" she muttered softly, looking down. She gave a slight sigh.

Keitaro frowned, and then just told himself to take it easy on the girl. He needed her after all, and after a moment of contemplation, he realized he was partially to blame as well. If he hadn't cooperated with her at all, he wouldn't be in this mess.

"Look, Motoko… you want to make it up with me?" Keitaro asked.

She looked up. "Of course!" she exclaimed.

Keitaro suddenly approached towards her, though not so close to invade her space, and his eyes on her at once. "Train me," he stated.

"For a week, train me to help you fight your sister," he continued. "Teach me to defend, and even strike. Help me condition my body to help you so it won't slow you down."

Motoko could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks again, though she forced it down. How many times had she blushed in this hour? Today?

"Urashima… if I train you, I might neglect my own training…" she stated. "And I'm not a qualified teacher… I don't know where to start!"

"Endurance… speed… stroke speed and agility… synchronization movements," Keitaro shrugged. "You can help me with stuff like that. Look…" he took a deep breathe. "If there is anyone I know who can help me train, it's you. You're the strongest warrior I know-"

"I'm not…" Motoko cut him suddenly.

"I don't know your sister too well, so technically it's you," Keitaro joked slightly with a smile. He got a small snort of laughter from Motoko.

"Look," he began seriously again. "I have faith in you. I know you can beat her. Help me so I can help you with that. Prove to yourself and your sister you are worthy to take over the dojo… alright?"

Motoko looked at him for a moment, before a smile brightened her face. It was infectious. Keitaro couldn't help but smile slightly back as well. She nodded at enthusiastically, finally, without any doubts or reserve in her form.

Keitaro smirked slightly. If everything went well, he could finally show that woman off. While he had doubts about the training, he promised himself to devote all energy to what Motoko had to offer. A week of intensive training would make him ready enough to support her during battle.

His plan was in motion, and so far, hadn't suffered from any heavy hitches.

The bitch wouldn't know what hit her.

**To Be Continued…**

**Notes: **

**(1) – **_Chapter 4 in A View to a Truth, Keitaro was ambushed by vampires, and was saved by Motoko._

_**AN**__: Sorry for the delay… had a trip, and this chapter was actually not even planned. But a friend of mines said it's a good transition chapter, so, what the hell. _

_Finishing it, I realized I had put a lot of stuff in it too. Not bad for a chapter that's not supposed to exist, eh? _

_Oh, and I finally got my ass to start writing chapter titles. :P I added chapter titles to all AVT chapters as well only… sorry Mediaminer, but don't worry. Future chapters will be named). I might do the same with the other K2 stories, but don't hold you're breath too much. _

_Anyways, later! _


	11. Chapter 11

* * *

**11 **– _Mirror Image_

* * *

Keitaro gasped as something cold came down on his face and chest, drenching his hair, sleeping bag and clothes. He sat up, surprised, and suddenly feeling the chill of the sunless morning. He shivered. He cursed silently.

Looking at the dark sky on the small window, he judged the time to be about four. His eyes darted back towards the figure of Motoko. Her long flowing hair was moving freely with the air. She was wearing her hakama. On her back was the dark blade he had found for her.

He glared at her. She ignored it.

"Get up. We shall take up our morning exercises, and then continue with your strokes," she stated in a rather cold manner. "And if you aren't up and done by 5 minutes, I'm dragging you out in your state."

Cruel woman, Keitaro thought darkly as she left the cabin. He hurriedly went towards his bag, which he made sure that Motoko never touched because other than where he kept a modest collection of clothes, he also kept the marriage contract which he had yet inform her about.

It had been three days since he discussed his plan with Motoko in her room late at night. Keitaro had wondered if he had to plan out the training itself, but he was rather pleasantly surprised at that time when he was awoken by Motoko the very next day (in the very early morning) and told him to pack some clothes.

He threw most of his flexible clothes in a gym bag along with his boxers and rubber shoes. He was told to be quiet as they sneaked out of the dorm, and went towards Motoko's private training ground. He had read from the diary of Keitaro of this world that Motoko sometimes would be training in an isolated area.

When asked what they would do if the tenants would panic at their disappearance, Motoko answered that she left a message which didn't state where they were and just explained why they were gone. And, she added, if they followed, she'd be very angry.

Keitaro had guessed it was a rather simple note that was just there to satisfy the question of the curious tenants who would be asking to themselves where they have gone. Motoko might have included the detail about her sister's challenge, and she might have actually put a threatening post-note to keep them at bay. Who knew? Keitaro never read the note to be exactly sure.

As Keitaro dressed, he looked around the room. There was his sleeping bag, beside the center which was a hollowed place to burn the coal, which while white and seemed out, was probably still burning underneath. He wanted to stoke them a bit, exposing the burning wood but decided against it. He was going to get really warm soon anyways.

The walls where made of aged wood that seemed to have stood the test of time. Two of those walls, facing against each other, had two small square cuts for windows. The other wall was solid, and the one facing it was the door which still worked fine, sliding smoothly, opening and closing.

The whole cabin was simplistic and quite bare. There were even no chairs, or drawers. To live here, one had to do with what they have brought. Thankfully, Motoko had taken some sleeping bags (she probably knew that Keitaro never had one to bring) though Keitaro had to make himself a pillow, which was a simple task; he just used some of his clothes.

Having dressed, Keitaro looked outside the window. The sun has yet to show, and Motoko was about to return. Not wanting to have a repeat of yesterday's scenario, which consisted of him being dragged out on his boxers (the damn woman looked like she was about to burst laughing), Keitaro hastily checked if his pants were secured before going towards the door.

He came face to face at once towards Motoko, who seemed to decided that his ten minutes were up, and was about to drag him out again. Instead, she came very close on bumping at him, both of their hands on the handle of the sliding door. Her cheeks colored a bit with the slight space in between them, but that quickly disappeared.

Her eyes looked towards Keitaro's and gave him a serious nod. He nodded back.

"We'll be having the usual warm-up, Urashima," Motoko muttered. "I expect an improvement or at least a repeat of yesterday's decent run. Any decline, I will personally see to it you catch up."

"Yes, sensei," Keitaro answered automatically. It was settled two days ago that Motoko would be the teacher, and him the student. With that in mind, her orders are to be followed explicitly when it came to the body conditioning.

The warm up was a pretty decent 5 mile jog, and in-between miles Motoko and Keitaro would burst out into a dash which pretty much tires out any beginner. But Keitaro was no beginner… even in such a weak body.

The body, much to his pleasant surprise, was quite sturdy; its stamina was deceptively hidden in the straw anatomy. Keitaro had guessed that with all the adventures that the old Keitaro had gone through, from being chased by 'amorous' (and he used that term lightly) women after stumbling at them in their state of undress, to even the daily chores the body has gone through seemed to have given K2 the slight boost he needed to keep up with Motoko.

Keitaro and Motoko ran on the tree-rich outdoors. The sun slowly climbed up during the run, but even before the first ray hit his face, Keitaro knew he was sweating a lot. The coldness had run from his veins, and what was left was the heat of effort which was maintained by the wind as they passed it.

After 3 miles, Keitaro was slowly once again losing his breath. He took in air deeply, trying to keep oxygen in his muscles, knowing that once they lose oxygen, he's going to slow down the pace, and if he does, Motoko's going to give him a good one.

The run was finally over, and Keitaro keeled over the ground, gasping a bit. Just beside him was Motoko, who after a few seconds of rest didn't even look remotely tired. Her face shone slightly with her own sweat, and her shirt was drenched, revealing the tightly knit cloth she kept wearing over her chest.

Why she never used a sports bra, Keitaro thought sardonically, he wouldn't know. He would have enjoyed the view more, that's for sure.

"Stand up, Urashima," Motoko ordered. "Its stroke practice now."

Keitaro didn't bother to reply; his throat still used for taking in more air and was rather useless for speaking. But he did stand up, and walked behind Motoko without drag.

After a few minutes of walking (equivalent to a cool down), Keitaro and Motoko once again found themselves in the 'fighting arena' as Keitaro learned to dub after a day. It was an open place filled with flattened grass where Keitaro and Motoko would train their sword strokes and spar in the many hours before they would have to go out to the near town and find some food for lunch. Then they'd come back and train again.

It was actually no different from Laharl's training, in Keitaro's opinion. Though he was a bit more sadistic, and didn't seem to hold back at times. Motoko, in regards, would spar him to what she would consider him at his level. When they first started she was slow, held back her strength and didn't even use fancy techniques, thinking Keitaro would never have stood a chance.

That annoyed him a lot. He got her back by using one of his ninja techniques, which not only caught Motoko off guard and fall on her behind hard, but also damaged a part of her pride. It didn't even help when Keitaro was smirking at her, standing tall.

The woman's cheeks flamed so badly, it got to every part of her face, and even her eyes. She gave him one of those patented death stares that took Keitaro back for a minute, wondering if she was going to lash out on him.

But she didn't. The girl stood up and gave him a respectful nod. Since then, he couldn't hit her anymore, and she seemed to smirk when she was about to hit him hard on the head. Keitaro suddenly wished he hadn't showed off. She countered almost all his moves (he was still slower in this untrained body) with precision, stripping him of almost any space in which he could recover.

Every spar ended with her hitting him in the head… hit after hit, after hit, after hit.

"Urashima, keep your mind in the present!" Motoko declared, hitting him gently in the noggin. "Do the strokes again!"

Keitaro groaned and growled. He gripped his boken tighter and swung again, starting all over. It was a thousand strokes before sparring until lunch. The run fatigued his legs… now his arms are equalizing. And if he would pause, or even not do them correctly, his head would also feel the pain.

In front of him, Motoko smirked as she berated him, and hitting where he needs correcting. He should be straight-backed, tall, determined, and all that bollocks. He wondered briefly if she was enjoying acting like a complete sadist.

"Good! Continue!" Motoko called.

387 strokes. 613 more to go.

* * *

After a few hours, Keitaro found himself thrown down by her sweep, which he tried to jump over, but was too slow to dodge. He grunted as the grass broke his fall somewhat, but the impact and pain was present nonetheless.

Motoko smirked slightly in front of him, her wooden blade pointing directly towards his fallen form. Keitaro just stared back with small contempt as he stood up, deflected her weapon with his own, and moved away to get into fighting position.

The young man assessed her movements again, trying to discern a pattern of attacks. It was an automatic response since his training with Laharl, but he knew it was rather useless. She was faster than him and his body moved like it was a rusted metal armor… even if he did know where she'd come at him, he couldn't move swiftly or smoothly enough to block. And if he did, she'd suddenly start a new pattern.

Sparring with her was like pitting an unaware human against a vampire hunting him. She outclassed and outmatched him. And Keitaro hated that thought very much.

Spurned with momentary anger, he charged in at her, surprising her slightly (because he had been going in defensive the whole time), and almost got a hit… or that is what average watchers would say. But those who knew, like Keitaro and Motoko, she didn't almost get hit… she let him come close. With sudden agility, Motoko's boken suddenly crashed down almost perpendicular with Keitaro's incoming weapon, redirecting the force of the blow downwards.

He couldn't even respond after that parry as he felt his whole body suddenly trip on itself. His wooden blade was now pointing downwards; his momentum was still pushing him forward. Motoko's body thinned suddenly as she shifted to her side, letting the running man pass her before she brought down her boken to his head.

Keitaro growled as he tasted grass yet again.

"Reckless," Motoko muttered with authority. "What have I told you? In battle, there is no second chance. You either win, or you lose, and those two factors depend on how you pace yourself during the fight."

"Yes, yes," Keitaro muttered annoyingly. "Follow the wind, feel the flow of your momentum, blah-blah-blah…"

"I don't think you fully appreciate what I'm trying to tell you, Urashima," Motoko stated, shaking her head.

"Hey, I can see your underwear from this angle."

That sentence suddenly got her to blush pink, and Keitaro moved in for the kill. Taking his boken, he drove its side, slashing towards her direction, his legs getting up for additional force behind his attack. He thought he had her…

His teacher back in his world had once told him that every battle is not counted in minutes, but in seconds. Victory or defeat comes in crucial moments in time. She was right. It just took a second to distract Motoko, it took even less for her to recover, grab his wrist, and twirl him to the other side, disarming him, and pinning him down with one knee.

He coughed as her knee and the ground drove pressure up his lungs.

"Okay, I give…" Keitaro muttered weakly.

Motoko herself didn't look that confident. Her cheeks were still flaming, and her eyes darted on the ground, unsure of herself. She mechanically just helped Keitaro up from the ground where she threw him on, and moved away.

"Wow… amazing," Keitaro mumbled. "I will not comment about your underwear if you're just going to throw me like a rag doll."

The joke was largely ignored by the woman, who looked like she wanted to protest. Her moves were purely defensive and instinctive, something she got training under Tsuruko and her school. She didn't mean to do that to Keitaro… but it just happened.

Instead of apologizing though, Motoko changed the mood by announcing the next course they will take for today.

"Urashima, let's adjourn for lunch."

Keitaro looked at Motoko oddly. "You sure?" he asked. He was certain that lunch wouldn't be for at least another hour.

"I am sure. Let's make haste."

Lunch was the only meal that Motoko and Keitaro would take by leaving the sanctuary of their training grounds. Dinner was usually some vegetables made into soup with light seasonings, using a cauldron over the coal fire. Water would be taken from the nearby river, which by the way Motoko drank straight from was clean and drinkable.

The vegetables and other ingredients would be gathered by late afternoon. The two would then spend some time on the woods, gathering them with a bit of gusto, making it a game of agility: whoever gets most ingredients that Motoko would list would get a bigger share. Of course, winning the game was pretty pointless because Motoko would always cook for four people. The leftovers would be eaten for breakfast.

As they walked back towards the town, Motoko once again started criticizing Keitaro's performance during the spar. While it was normal for a teacher to do this, Keitaro felt she was going a bit overboard with it.

"And your speed… how can you try to keep up with me when you are 3 seconds slower?"

"And your strikes need more power behind it. Your form seems to be excellent, but you need more passion in your attacks!"

"If you cannot even get a slight hit at me at this point, then we've got no hope."

"You are really weak, Urashima."

Okay the last bit was way over the line, Keitaro thought with a slight glare towards his noodles. Weak? He got a hit from her the first time they started training, right? He could actually keep up with her during their morning run, right? He would follow her regime without much complaint and she still has the gall to call him weak?

Keitaro's mind seethed as he swallowed the well cooked noodles. He ignored its flavor and began to think of a way to take another go at her pride. Her high and mighty attitude was really beginning to burn him, and the only way to jolt her was to get a hit where she would not expect it.

Motoko largely ignored her gut feeling that something was wrong, and continued to talk along the way back to the training grounds. As the concrete walls slowly faded into wood and leaves, Motoko finally stopped lecturing Keitaro, and reminded him that they were going to continue sparring and then work on their synchrony.

Their synchrony was the kata sequence that was born out of Keitaro's idea to beat Tsuruko. The idea was that the two of them would work together, switching up from defense to offense, mixing up to confuse the woman. It would allow them to block her incoming attacks, and counter at once, exposing her weakness from changing from offense to defense by suddenly countering as her momentum was stolen. Such synchrony would also allow them to operate in offense without worrying much about defense, as one would cover the other's back.

But the problem with such form is that Keitaro was very much the weak link. Motoko was definitely faster and stronger than him, her body much more conditioned. She'd have to keep at his level lest she expose the weaknesses of their forms.

This is one of the very reasons of their training. Not only to condition Keitaro's body, but to also help in reading and following each other's lead, acting in synergy. But so far, the only synchrony they had was glaring at each other when their heads, arms, or weapons clash.

"We shall spar in 5 minutes. Take your usual preparation, and get your weapon," Motoko ordered.

Keitaro nodded and made his way towards his boken. His mind smiling as he finally formed his plan.

Motoko wouldn't know what hit her.

* * *

The young woman looked curiously as Keitaro seemed to stand erect in front of her, his form and aura screaming with confidence. She mentally shook her head. The arrogant little man. Well, at least he is taking this seriously.

"Motoko…" he called in a clear and crisp voice. She just looked at him with narrowed eyes. "I will get one hit from you now."

She scoffed silently. "Less talk, more action, Urashima."

Before Motoko would move, Keitaro suddenly darted towards her. She knew something was up. From most of the spars that Keitaro would do, he always kept himself in the defensive. And after he got his first hit, she knew why.

The young man had his eyes on her forms, studying it, and slowly trying to find its weaknesses. While it seemed preposterous (when was Keitaro actually any good at fighting?) she remembered that the training program she had conceived was primarily born out of Keitaro's idea as he found her sister's weakness.

His perception was beyond what a non-practitioner would show, and Motoko herself was very curious on how he developed it. She didn't believe it was some sort of skill he learned for drawing because he seemed to know a lot of close quarter combat to counter most of her forms… but his body condition; lack of flexibility, strength and agility, hurt him to the point that his skills were nothing more than amateur levels.

Hence her way of training. In a week, he'd be more efficient, and an asset in battle.

But there was nothing sinister about his charge. Motoko thought that he was going to go for a feint, and try again on her right side, her weak side, but no, he was running straight at her, his boken going towards her head.

His body spoke clearly towards her. The strike had power, no deception, and no reason. Motoko mentally grinned. She lowered her weapon, hoping to fool him that she was surprised and open for a hit.

His weapon came down. Her arms rose suddenly, blocking it. The two wooden weapons clashed, and Motoko shifted her body so she could lock his in her defense. She came close at him, face to face.

"Urashima, you're reckless. In battle, you'd be dead," she stated seriously, slightly mocking.

Keitaro smirked. "I know… sensei."

His last word was spoken with a sort of sarcasm, and his left hand suddenly released its grip on the hilt of his weapon going behind his neck. Motoko's eyebrows rose, wondering what was he doing. When his arms came up, her eyes widened.

Holding on his left hand was another boken. He must have placed it right behind him before he came at her for the spar. It would explain his straight form; he was hiding the hilt that was sticking out behind his neck… why his strike had no traces of deception; he wasn't trying to feint on his strike… he was feinting with his strike!

Motoko moved her body, trying to get away, but it was far too late. His arm was coming down.

A solid thwack was heard as the pain drove to her head, driving her down on the ground in one knee.

Silence.

Motoko raised her eyes, clutching her sore spot. Standing there, again, was Keitaro, smirking down at her, two bokens, one on each hand.

"Well, sensei? You were saying?" he asked patronizingly.

She saw red.

Keitaro laughed a bit, and smiled a bit. Letting go one of the bokens, he offered his hand to the fallen girl, only for it to be shoved away with a rather painful slap. He winced.

The girl helped herself up, and moved away from him. Keitaro wondered for a moment if he had strayed rather too far with her last quip, when she suddenly turned, and looked at him coldly, her eyes blazing. He was taken aback momentarily.

"Uh… Motoko… look, if you're mad…"

"Mad?" she cut him. "I'm not mad. Brilliant move, Urashima. Never saw it coming. I was wrong in underestimating you."

"Damn right you are," Keitaro muttered silently.

"Since you are seemingly a fast learner, maybe I ought to raise the level," she declared. "Defend yourself Urashima."

Keitaro was about to ask what she meant by raising the level when she suddenly dashed at him with rather astonishing speed. His eyes widened, and barely raised his weapon to instinctively block the incoming strike.

His weapon once again clashed with hers, though the sheer force of her attack vibrated across the wooden blade, shocking Keitaro as his legs automatically moved away before his weapon would break. His mind ran as he tried to figure out how to stop her assault, when she suddenly came to view again, swinging at him.

His feet left the ground at yet another impressive show of force. His hand was straining, and if he had continued to try and hold on like this, it'd blister, and bleed.

"Motoko! Stop! I'm sorry!" Keitaro cried desperately. Then, suddenly… he froze. And unlike his regular freezing spells, this one had a nasty bite.

He yelped as suddenly he felt his chest seemingly burning, yet he couldn't do anything as his body refused to obey him. And to makes matters worse, Motoko didn't seem to notice anything wrong with him, her eyes gleaming with victory as her weapon was raised.

Keitaro felt the hit… but was driven almost immediately to unconsciousness, spared of the pain.

* * *

Sky blue and clouds. When Keitaro first saw those, he immediately felt for the ground. Nothing.

"Oh great… I'm back…" he muttered.

There was a slight giggle above his lying head. Without any word, he sat up. As amazing it was at the fact there was no ground to support him, he felt none of its awe. In this place, he knew that physics didn't seem to be involved in anything. This universe had laws of its own. Keitaro would just think it, and he would find himself doing it.

"Hello, Kei-kun."

Keitaro faced towards the female figure behind him, smiling slightly. He hadn't seen the woman for quite a while, and he hadn't done so on purpose. He wanted to ask her why it was only now that he would see her again, when he noticed a male figure beside her.

Keitaro frowned.

The male looked at him with rather nervous smile; his ugly spectacles mired his brown eyes. Keitaro has seen that face before… staring back at him in the mirror. It was the same face he had seen every time he would wash his face back in Hinata-sou.

The man looked liked the Keitaro's body K2 was occupying. A mirror image.

"Hello," K2 muttered back at the two, waving slightly. "As much as I am surprised to see you, I'm more in seeing that guy."

K2 walked towards them. The girl, whose name was still amiss to him, just smiled. Finally, he was in arm's length and looked at the old Keitaro closely. He was smiling nervously, scratching behind his head with his hands, eyes closed. What a damn weakling.

"Well, you have been rather busy, so I didn't want to distract you," she stated. She looked towards the other Keitaro. "Of course… I found someone interesting, so I couldn't resist bringing you here when I had the chance."

There was a slight smile in K2's face. "You didn't have to freeze me in order to do that."

"Uh… a-actually… that's my fault," Keitaro cut in.

The slight smile faded into an ugly frown, and K2's eyes stared hard towards his other self with some contempt. Keitaro seemed to have been taken aback, his left foot automatically going behind him, as if ready to run.

"You have some bloody good explanation, 'Keitaro'," K2 muttered in a low tone.

"Now, now, boys, no need for a game of tag," the woman with blue hair calmly stated, patting both Keitaro and K2 in the shoulders. "Kei-kun, stop glaring at Keitaro. Keitaro, stop fidgeting."

Keitaro and K2 both looked at her oddly.

"What? I'll call you," she pointed towards K2, "Kei-kun. I'll call you," and this time, she pointed at Keitaro, "Keitaro. Alright?"

"I pretty much don't care about that," K2 muttered. "I want to know why he," he points towards Keitaro, "is here, and why the hell is he messing with me."

"I… I'm sorry…" he muttered panicky.

"Grow a spine, man," K2 directed another glare towards Keitaro. "I don't need an apology. I need a damn good explanation!"

"Hey, Kei-kun, calm down," the woman squeezed his shoulder hard. "We'll get there. No need to blow a gasket." She looked towards the other Keitaro. "Don't mind him, he's in his moods again."

Keitaro just grinned nervously.

"Alright, so as not to start another glare game," she shot a look at K2, which wasn't so effective since her eyes were still hidden behind her bangs, "I'll start off. First, Kei-kun, I was pretty much aware of your freezing spells. The source was a vibrating force in your soul."

"My soul?" K2 asked with slight disbelief.

"Yes, Kei-kun," the woman nodded. "I felt the effects myself. You don't want to be here when your soul suddenly erupts to a twitching frenzy. It's like some scale 10 earthquake. The effect on you is, of course, shock, and the body just suddenly freezes on you.

"Now, today was probably the worst of the bunch. The whole place was like it was on fire," she continued. "So, I investigated. And surprise, surprise, I found another lingering soul." She pointed at Keitaro. "Him. He was where the source of all the shaking and heat were.

"Now, I was going to ask what he was doing here, why, where, how, and all the usual questions when you came in," she finally finished. "Kinda glad, though. Saves me the time to literate to you."

"Well, as impeccable my timing was, it was all thanks to our lingering soul," K2 looked towards Keitaro, who looked slightly indignant.

"Hey, it's not my fault!" he stated. "I was on my way to finally enter Todai… when I just suddenly found myself in a black space!"

"Yeah… we kinda did impose you that time," the woman stated.

"Impose?" both Keitaros asked. Then they looked at each other oddly.

She just giggled. "Yes, impose. Kei-kun, remember, your soul was taken from your body and transferred to this body… we both imposed our identity towards Keitaro, who was already inhabiting it. In short, we took over his body."

"B…b…body snatchers!?" Keitaro began to panic, stepping back, as if trying to run. K2 ignored him.

"Now that you mention it, I remember fighting that goddess when…"

The images of a bright light enveloped his memories. K2 didn't know what was going on at that time. All he could think was trying to dodge her stabs as he was pinned on the ground. The next moment, he found himself with Mutsumi in Todai.

It seemed the woman also was on the same level as he was. "Yes… well, as the Law of any Universe, any kind of matter cannot occupy the same space at the same time, unless special properties come in," she explained. "In souls, it's a simple matter of limited space."

"W-would anyone explain this in Japanese?" Keitaro asked. K2 ignored him again.

"Limited space?" he asked.

"Yes, for example, Keitaro," she suddenly pointed towards the said young man, who suddenly looked apprehensive. "He was able to occupy a part of your soul that's been damaged instead of being snuffed out of the body completely."

"Damaged?" K2 asked. "My soul is damaged?"

"Yes, but not really anything major. It's a bit superficial, actually. Keitaro seemed to squeeze himself in that space," she looked and smiled towards him. "Right?

"Would anyone explain what's going on here?" Keitaro asked. "Who are you people!? Why did you snatch my body!? What are you planning!?"

K2 looked towards the woman, and back towards his other self. His mind went over for a moment at the questions Keitaro was spouting out. He deserved an answer. Even if he was a weakling.

"She can explain everything to you," K2 replied, pointing towards the woman, who looked at him with slight surprise. "My name is Urashima Keitaro, agent with the code K2 of the U-Faction, specialized on assassination of supernatural forces."

"Uh…" Keitaro couldn't speak because he found himself feeling faint. Code K2? U-Faction? Assassination!? Supernatural forces!?

"Look, I won't have enough time here," K2 explained. "I was just driven unconscious. I may wake up any moment and disappear. I just wanted to say sorry for occupying your body. She can go answer most of the questions you have, but I need you to stop freezing me."

"Freezing?"

"What you were doing earlier," K2 replied patiently. He needed this Keitaro to know that much is important. He couldn't afford having another freezing spell like that, especially when it came to battle.

When Keitaro still looked confused, the woman tried to explain. "He means when you're vibrating the whole place."

"Oh… well it's not my fault that the empty place I found myself would suddenly start heating up!" Keitaro replied with a bit indignantly. "It's painful, you know!"

"Heating up?" the woman asked.

"Yes!" Keitaro stated. "Earlier was the worst… the whole place was like an oven on fire!"

K2 wanted to hear more about this odd incident when he suddenly felt that familiar tug on his stomach. His hands automatically went for the place of sensation. She seemed to notice, and smiled at him.

"You're going?" she asked.

"Yeah, unfortunately," K2 looked at her. "Look, sorry for dumping him on you. I'll try to get back here."

"I'll bring you here when you sleep," she stated with a nod.

K2 could feel his consciousness stirring.

"Keep him here," he stated as he felt himself fading. "I don't want another freezing spell like earlier. And bring me back, alright? I still want to talk to him."

Keitaro and the woman watched with interest as K2's body seemingly faded from view. Little by little, like seeds of a dandelion being blown away. When his presence was gone, Keitaro looked towards the woman nervously, who looked at him back with a slight smile.

"Want tea, Keitaro?" she asked.

"Uh… sure."

"Oh, good," she nodded. "It's going to be a rather long story."

* * *

The smell of ammonia invaded his senses almost at once. Keitaro's eyes opened, and he prepared to be slightly blinded by the afternoon sun, when all he saw was a wooden roof. He looked to his left, then suddenly closed his eyes as the sun made itself known. He shook his head, sneezing slightly.

"Urashima, are you alright?" Motoko's worried voice came on his right, taking away what looked like smelling salts.

He shifted his head to face her. He was about to launch a string of obscenities, when he saw her worried look. Her eyes seem to stare back at his with caution, looking torn and forlorn. He sighed.

"How long was I out?" he asked.

"Twenty minutes."

"Really? Well, we're wasting time," Keitaro muttered as he tried to stand. "Let's go, sens…" he couldn't finish his sentence as he suddenly felt a splitting burning pain on his head. He groaned.

"Don't move Urashima… the last hit you took gave you a mild concussion…"

"I know mild, Motoko…" Keitaro muttered. "What I feel isn't mild."

"I would have given you some pain killers… but unfortunately…" she let the sentence linger.

"I have some in my bag," Keitaro muttered. He had packed a few in case he would need some to block the pain and keep himself working. After all, a week can pass fast, and he needed himself in good condition as possible.

Motoko nodded, and went towards his bag, while Keitaro's eyes were once again roamed towards the ceiling. He must have been dragged or carried back to the cabin after he froze up, and was hit directly (and hard) on his noggin. He smiled slightly at the memory of her reaction as he gave her a clean hit.

He was not going to do that any time soon, though he hoped that Motoko would stop being a high and mighty bitch. He didn't like anyone berating him for doing hard work, especially when he wasn't slacking off. Justified criticism he can take… but not bullying.

Keitaro felt something hit him from the side. He looked, and spotted his painkillers (in a medicine bottle) and he gratefully opened it, and took two capsules and swallowed them. He looked towards Motoko who seemed to be looking at him emptily. His eyebrows rose inquisitively.

"Motoko?"

"Urashima… may I… that is to say…" her labored breathing bothered him.

"Spill, Motoko."

There was a slight pause.

"What is the meaning of this, Urashima?" she finally asked, raising her hand, revealing she was holding a piece of paper.

Keitaro could feel another burst of pain and heat coming to his head. Damn it, how could have he been so stupid? There was a reason why he had not let Motoko get too close to his bag, and she was respectful enough not to pry…

In her hand was the marriage certificate… something he had kept a secret about. And now… it's blown wide open.

Keitaro could only do what he could. Cursed inwardly.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

_AN: Another chapter done… sorry it took a while. This chapter finally gives a rather clear answer to where the old Keitaro is and why K2 has freezing spells. Anyways, hope you all enjoy it. Ja ne.  
_

* * *


	12. Chapter 12

* * *

**12 – **_Blood Feud_

* * *

"What is this, Urashima?" Motoko asked again, shaking her hand, putting emphasis on the marriage contract she had stumbled upon.

Keitaro himself looked absolutely dumbstruck. His mind cursing as he once again let himself get careless, a trait he was finding rather common and at the same time irritating. What was about this world that got him into these messes, which normally shouldn't happen to him? And to take a more present note, what can he do now that the whole jig was up?

He took a deep breathe. He decided to tell the truth. Or at least, partly the truth.

"Your sister gave me that."

"My sister?" Motoko asked, taken aback.

"Yes. She considers our trickery an offense, and took the liberty in marrying us behind our backs," he stated steadily.

For a while, Motoko looked like she was in deep thought. Her forehead etched crooked lines, and suddenly, her eyes darted from the contract back to Keitaro, looking like she finally was revealed something.

"Kamis… that makes sense…" she muttered quietly. "The reason why my sister told you instead of me about the challenge… why you are joining me to fight her…" She paused. "Why, Urashima? Why didn't you tell this to me earlier!?"

"Why do you think, Motoko?" Keitaro replied. "You would have bitten my head off when you've heard this, or hell, break down crying, or maybe, a long-shot, just nod and actually go through with it!"

"I… I wouldn't! Stop making assumptions, Urashima!" Motoko muttered with a slight blush.

"Fine," he said.

"Still, you shouldn't have hid this from me!" Motoko stated.

"Why?" he asked. "It's nothing major."

"Nothing major?" she shook angrily. "Are you mad?"

"Am I?" Keitaro's eyes darted back towards Motoko hard. "Why? Because I hid some marriage contract from you? I hid the fact we're actually husband and wife?"

Motoko looked at him confused. "No. You hid 'something' from me… a fact that has to do something with me! You said so yourself, we're married! Don't I have a right to know!?"

"It's only temporary, Motoko," Keitaro stated calmly. "This contract's broken by the time we beat your sister."

"Brok…" Motoko couldn't exactly finish her sentence when her mind finally clicked into something. Her sudden silence garnered the attention of Keitaro, who looked at her cautiously.

For a moment, Keitaro wondered if Motoko had finally understood, and calmed down. A foolish though, but a hopeful one nonetheless, because her eyes suddenly glazed as she looked towards Keitaro with an emotionless mask.

"Oh… I see it…" she muttered faintly. "I can see where this is going."

Keitaro raised an eyebrow. "You do?" Thank heavens then. The girl wasn't as hopeless as he thought.

"Oh yes… why you were so eager to help me get back to my school… I can see it now."

Keitaro looked at her, his eyes unblinking. Looks like believing her comprehension of the subtle seemed misplaced. What cock and bull story had come up to her mind now?

"Why you were so eager to train with me… why you were so eager to offer me your family heirloom, to help me beat my sister… everything," she stated softly, yet determined, like building up momentum. "You just wanted out, right?"

"Huh?" Keitaro asked, though his stomach was slightly fluttering. He got a bad feeling about this.

"Don't play dumb, Urashima, you just wanted out of this, right?" she asked, shaking the contract.

He kept quiet. What was the woman going on about? Of course he wanted out! Didn't she?

His silence and pause was taken as the answer to Motoko. She closed her eyes, her body twitching.

"I see…" she stated softly. "I see. I see." She paused. "Go away, Urashima."

His mind snapped when she said her last sentence. He didn't think he heard her right. "Excuse me?"

"Get out of my sight, Urashima," she stated, this time with a bit more force.

When he didn't move, she grabbed the black sword behind her, and unsheathed it a quarter of the way. The light reflected the shiny black blade in a small glint. Her eyes narrowed, turning to a deadly glare she directed towards the young man.

"I said get out of my sight, Urashima!" she barked.

Taken aback by her sudden outburst, Keitaro unsteadily moved towards the door. He looked at her looking at him, his lips frowning. Without further ado, he opened the door, and slid out, closing it behind him.

Inside, Motoko sheathed her weapon back. Her eyes glazed as she slid down, cupping her legs over her bent torso, her eyes going to her knees. She let out a silent cry.

* * *

"Women…" he muttered silently as he walked further away from the house. What was her problem? Surely, a woman of her stature, and her demeanor and philosophy would not begrudge upon herself to stay married with him? Would she? 

He sighed. He could feel the dulling throbbing pain of his head… he thanked himself for getting those painkillers. Poor head of his. Hit hard by wooden stick, and then, after it was just woken up, had to face an enraged woman, the very same who hit him earlier.

But thinking about her just brought more dull pain on his head, and after a few minutes of contemplating, just told himself to forget her for a while. She would most likely calm herself down anyway.

Keitaro decided to go into town again. There was nothing for him back in the training grounds… unless he'd want to tempt to stroke Motoko's already raging fire, and at the same time, heartily commit suicide, then the town was the best way to waste time.

He wasn't much of a nature lover anyway. Shrugging his shoulders, he marched back to town. After he arrived, he finally had a good look around and since most of his visits consisted of two to three various restaurants that Motoko would choose where to dine. Though seemingly random at first, it was with purpose when Keitaro realized all the restaurants she had decided on knew her with familiarity.

Well, logically, it would make sense since this is Motoko's training getaway. She must have developed relationships when she was training here before. Thankfully, visiting the town had him develop his own relations with the people here. Some greeted him as he passed.

For a few hours, he found himself wandering past a few stalls, looking… watching… spotting. Anything, wherever, whatever. Items that he would never use… items he found amusing… items he found interesting.

And there was something he found useful. A small modest house, selling trinkets of junk, he spotted in the corner, quite hidden, a pair of arm gauntlets. It was made of two pieces of light steel, held together by leather straps that would also worked as adjustable belts. They weren't exactly light, but not too heavy either. It was a very basic, yet effective tool for defense.

Asking for the price, he wondered briefly if there was a bank around here. He may have to use that ATM card that Keitaro of this world had (though he thought to ask permission to him first before using it) and give himself a pair to help him with his defense.

No matter how hard he'd train himself, he was a ninja at the core. The sword training Motoko was putting him through was only effective to a certain degree. His defense using the sword made his body move like it was on rust, and was ineffective when Motoko got serious. But if he would use the defense he was actually trained to do, he might be able to sneak in more advantages…

More plans, and more imaging fight came to his mind, and Keitaro, in a rare occasion, found himself in Zen. If he could mix up all what he learned up to now, with his improved body, he could adjust his fighting style to maximize his fighting prowess considerably. Granted, it wouldn't be as he was with his old body, but with Motoko…

Motoko…

Keitaro looked up in the blue sky, his lungs slowly filling with air. He sighed. He didn't want to say or think the woman had more issues than the Japanese Times, but she fluctuates in the oddest times.

She's serious, motivated, beautiful… by looks alone she has what Keitaro would call the "Japanese Beauty Look". In her form, she reminded him so many ways of his teacher. Her fighting skills were impressive, and above all, she's quite smart and clever… until it comes to her problems, that is.

A serious male hater, almost mistaken for a feministic homosexual, the Motoko of his world seems to enjoy head-butting him, trying to catch him off guard and give her legitimate reasons to throw him out. In this world, she's not so intense, though that can be thanked by living more than a year with Keitaro, but at the core, similar.

Except this time, she seems to have something that the Motoko in his world never had.

She liked him. A rather good lot.

By the time he thought of that, K2's eyes finally opened to his surroundings. The first thing he saw was the seesaw, and beside it a swing set. He hadn't clearly remembered stopping by a playground. His hands touched the concrete bench in which he was sitting on, and chuckled silently, his lips forming a wry smile.

He was thinking too much.

The sun was setting, the moon already showing itself. The reddish pink lit sky seemed beautiful though ominous at the same time. How long was he thinking? From his guess, about three hours or so. Time seemed to fly fast.

Deciding that he already had given Motoko enough time to take out her steam, Keitaro decided to go back to his retreat house, and face another day. He hoped that maybe this was just a slight bump in a long road ahead. He was sure Motoko would see the reason, and work him hard once again.

He found himself passing through the road where concrete would fade to leaves and wood… where man made structures went back to nature. His mind was blank, unlike earlier (thoughts of revenge) and he was slightly happier going back here now then before.

Then the wind shifted around him, making him stop, and look around. His fists clenched hard that his palm was feeling his finger nails. The feeling of dread washed on his skin, penetrating it, making its way to his abdomen, involuntarily making him shiver.

"Who's there?" he demanded with a strong, yet soft voice.

All he heard was a slight giggle.

Coming behind him.

He turned around deftly, only to notice too late an incoming fist. He raised his arm automatically to block, only for it to feel an impact so strong he thought that his arm was broken by the force. Yelping, and jumping back, he tumbled and landed on his backside, grabbing his arm in agony.

"Did that hurt, little boy?"

A creepy voice… female. Feral. Something about it gives a very musky property Keitaro recognized fully well where he'd find it: in bed, or when a demon wants to kill you in the most painful way as possible.

He cursed. Standing up, his eyes darted towards where he was attacked, and saw a beautiful woman… too beautiful in fact. Her fangs gave her away almost immediately. A vampire. She grinned maliciously at him, her eyes crimson and glowing. Her long flowing red hair

"Aren't you a bit early?" Keitaro muttered, his legs tensing, waiting for another attack. "The sun hasn't disappeared…"

"As long as there's no direct sunlight reaching us here, I'm safe," she replied, still grinning.

Keitaro cursed again. Without looking around, he knew she was stating the truth. Vampires rarely tend to go out when the sun was still present since their powers are derived from the darkness of their surroundings, where they take advantage of their shadow properties. But it doesn't mean that they wouldn't come out when there was still rather light… though for Keitaro, this was the first time he witnessed a vampire coming out before the darkness sets.

"Your legs are shaking little boy…"

Keitaro growled, and focused on her. He noticed something really odd about her voice… for some reason he heard different tones when she spoke, all very controlled. Almost like an echo or something.

"Don't tell me my little sister had trouble with you?"

Again, the voice tones. Keitaro couldn't shake the feeling something was afoot. He was about to think more into it when he heard another voice, this time, on his right… a familiar voice.

"Sisters, stop playing with him!"

Keitaro looked towards the direction of the new voice, and his eyes widened.

"You…" he muttered, surprised. He recognized her immediately… how could he forget? The night when he first met Yuuko… the night he first came to this world… he was attacked by a group of vampires. Motoko rescued him by killing three of the offending vampires, and the other two escaped…

One of them is back.

Again, the first vampire who attacked him came at him with blinding speed, ramming her shoulder towards him, sending him flying once again, except this time his back hit a tree trunk, driving air out of his lungs. He felt another blow to his abdomen a second later, which was so strong that he tasted bile from his throat. He bent over, his legs not supporting him, and was supported by the offending arm of the female vampire attacking him.

"This is the person that gave you trouble, little sister?" she asked towards the other vampire. Again, Keitaro heard the way it sounded… he couldn't get it out of his head.

"He's nothing but a weak little boy," she continued.

"It's not him that humiliated me and killed our brothers," the younger vampire stated, approaching them. "It's the female he is with."

"Ah… so this is the human toy you wanted?" the older one asked. Her focus went from Keitaro towards her sister, and at that moment, he lifted himself up, seeing an opening. He assaulted her with his elbow which he aimed on the side of her head, in which she nimbly blocked.

She sneered at him. Her head didn't move, but her eyes went towards him. Keitaro's teeth snarled behind his closed lips, and raised his other arm when he saw her other hand moving. He was able to block her counter attack, but the force of her attack was so strong, and with Keitaro's legs not in position, he lost balance and footing.

Like a limping boxer, Keitaro staggered as the older vampire continued her assault. Her left and right combos came fast and furious and Keitaro, with his boxing background, automatically tried to dodge the attacks blindly. He dodged 5 straights before her knee came up and hit him on his stomach.

He was barely able to jump away, minimizing the impact on his body, but the pain was still ever-present that he coughed a few moments before he looked at her again. Her eyes were glittering with anticipation, and her hands and arms spread, leaving herself opened.

She was playing with him. Keitaro growled and readied his fist, and charged towards her with his own offense, which she dodged without much effort. After she was able to dodge four of his strikes, he changed tactics, and feinted by raising his knee. Seeing it, she finally crossed her arms to block his feint, and Keitaro grinned as she was finally left open.

His fist flew towards her face as he stomped his raised leg back down on the ground, putting his whole weight in it. He knew it was going to hit… the whole thing was too fast for even her to react… which is why he received a sudden shock when his offending fist was blocked.

His eyes widened when he saw what blocked his attack, and looked towards the offending vampire. She smirked at him, her fangs glinting dangerously.

"You… you're not…"

That was the only thing he could say before she bit him painfully in the neck. Keitaro shuddered as his whole spine seemed to turn into jelly, his arms and legs shaking uncontrollably as she drank from him with gusto.

"H… help…" he muttered deliriously for a moment before her hand came to his mouth.

She stopped sucking on his neck, his crimson blood flowing down her. She stared at his eyes, her smile still present. Keitaro tried to look away but her hand grabbed his jaw and yanked it rather hard, though not too hard to break his neck, to force him to stare back at her.

"You are mine," she muttered coldly.

* * *

The wind shifted so fast that Motoko knew, deep inside, that something was wrong. Add to the fact that it's been hours since Keitaro was kicked out of the hut, she began to worry. 

She had calmed down half an hour after he left her alone. Her immediate calmed thoughts made her blush as she thought back of her blatant foolishness. She lashed out to him for something she had long suspected. After all, this marriage is an inconvenience to them, especially to him who is enamored by her sempai, Narusegawa, it was perfectly natural for him to want out.

But him hiding the fact… was it because he thought of her well being, mentally, for such the offense as he claimed? She couldn't think Keitaro had more malicious concepts and reasons to hide the contract… unless he tried to force himself upon her by thrusting the marriage contract as a surprise weapon…

Well, being male, she wouldn't put it past him, especially since he was surprising her in a rather astounding rate, particularly when it concerned battle. She thought she might find herself working with a weakling with no amount of skill or even luck, bringing her skills even lower, until of course, he actually hit her. Twice even!

But, no… she shook her head. For some reason, another part of her brain reminded her how Keitaro was in nature. He might have been a perverted male with tendency to grope any female in sight (there is no way all those accounts would be caused by carelessness…), but deep inside, he was a good person. He might have been less outgoing now than he was before he broke his leg, but at the core, seems to be the same person.

Motoko suddenly shifted her head to the right automatically as an arrow flew past the paper sliding door. She didn't even need to think it, she automatically dodged the projectile. She recovered immediately.

"Who's there!?" she demanded, looking outside, feeling the environment. There was nothing… someone probably fired the arrow far from her senses. Making sure that another attack wasn't coming, she looked towards the arrow, and was surprised to find a note attached to it.

She untied it. She looked and read what was written. Her eyes widened at the content. Without wasting any time, she grabbed the black sword resting beside her, stood up and exited the hut.

The paper flew down gently at her exit, and fell down with the written material face up. In there, it was written in blood: _Meet us in the deep forest if you want him back. _

She rushed towards the forest without a second thought. 'Him' must have meant Keitaro, which would explain his delayed return disappearance. Add to the possibility the blood may be his, there was a chance that he was in danger.

She jumped over a fallen log as she tried to scan the whole area as wide as she could, looking for any odd energies. After a few meters, she felt a weak pulse of Keitaro's ki, and honed towards that direction, jumping up towards the branches, avoiding the low ground in case of traps.

After a minute, she found herself in a clear area, where down below, she spotted Keitaro, unmoving, sitting down. He was pinned, held by the neck by a female vampire she recognized immediately as one of the vampires that escaped her blade. She hid behind the leaves.

"I feel you, Aoyama warrior," the vampire declared, looking towards her general direction. "Come out, or I snap this human's neck."

Motoko moved slowly, her hand reaching for the black blade, only to stop when he heard Keitaro gasp. She gritted her teeth as she watched as the female vampire squeezing his neck.

"And nothing funny, human female," the vampire stated seriously. "I know your ki-based attacks are quite effective long range, and with my brother's death, you can choose who to slice with your skills. Any funny movements, you'll know what happens."

Motoko assessed the situation again. Her plan was to attack and kill the vampire before she could even move, but it seems the vampire was ready for her. Cowardly creature… using someone as a shield. She also began to berate Keitaro for getting caught, only to shake her head… it wasn't really his fault, and it would do no good to even fume about it now.

"What do you want?" she asked strongly.

"Come down from your place," the vampire replied. "Feet on the ground."

Motoko studied the open ground, trying to discern any possible traps. When she deemed it safe, she jumped down towards the ground, slightly disturbing the area around it. She was about to ask what the vampire wanted, when she suddenly felt a mana burst from her side. She immediately bent backward, dodging the swipe towards her, and back-flipped away, twice, landing on a base of the tree, her knees bent down and ready.

"You coward," Motoko stated coldly towards the shadow that attacked her. She was about to unsheathe her sword when the younger vampire waved her finger at her.

"Uh, uh, uh," she muttered. "Take your hand off that hilt."

Motoko growled, but complied.

"Remove that thing from your waist, and drop it to the ground."

The sword was readily removed from her waist, though Motoko froze up when it came to putting her weapon down. It was her weapon, her sword. As a samurai, she couldn't just drop it so easily, but when that vampire tightened her grip towards at Keitaro, she softly placed it on the ground.

"I've been disarmed," Motoko stated. "What do you want?"

The younger vampire seems to be contented, and smirked.

"I want you to feel the humiliation I felt on our little encounter back in Tokyo," she stated enthusiastically. "I will pay you back a thous…"

"Oh, quiet down, little sister," the older vampire suddenly spoke. The younger one was surprised.

"Eh…?"

"All this talk about humiliation… you're not the one who's going to take her on," the older vampire told her younger sister, tilting her head to look at her with a dirty grin. "You're just hiding behind your new toy, so don't get cocky."

"Sis…"

"Shut up, weakling," the older vampire cut her off in a deathly tone. "From this point on, I'll do all the talking. You can just sit there, and watch your little new toy."

The other vampire growled a few obscenities, before seemingly bowing down. Motoko wondered briefly if she could turn the two against each other, before she felt the older vampire's eyes on her.

She could only look back.

"I heard from you from my sister," the older vampire spoke towards Motoko. "She was crying to our mother how a little bitch from the Aoyama clan had stopped her from feeding, acquiring a new toy, and killed her brothers at the same time.

"You know, of course, such complaints are nothing, and truthfully, there was nothing else our family could do," she continued. "Shows you how immature she was. Every vampire knows… if you get caught, you're on your own. Little Monica was lucky our older brother got her away."

Little Monica? She must have been referring to the other, younger vampire, Motoko thought. She chanced a look towards her, and noticed that the younger vampire was seething in anger. Motoko smiled slightly.

"She was begging her older siblings to come with her for revenge, how stupid can one vampire get?" the older one continued, shrugging her shoulders. "Of course, no one really went on with her ramblings…"

"All except you, correct?" Motoko asked, cutting the older vampire off, who just smiled. "Why then?"

"Let's say I hate those from the Aoyama clan," the older vampire replied. "And it would be a big of blow for them if their little heiress was killed in a vampire encounter, wouldn't it?"

"Don't underestimate me, dark creature," Motoko's eyes narrowed. "The only thing that separates you from death is your cowardly tactics."

"Cowardly?" the older vampire laughed. When she stopped, she looked at Motoko with a grin. "That is the prize, my dear Aoyama. I want to see how far your clan has gone… or are you just like before… helpless without your little swords? If you win, you can have your puny male back… but if…"

"Ayane!" Monica, the younger vampire cut her older sister off. "You can't just use my pet as a prize!"

"Shut up, little sister," the older vampire turned her head to her, her eyes glowing deathly crimson, her fangs showing up. "If you're lucky, I'll at least let you keep him for a month before I suck all of his blood out."

The younger vampire growled, but kept quiet.

"Heh… now, where were we--" the older vampire turned around to face Motoko, only to be suddenly hit by a glowing fist. Blindsided and surprised, the older vampire flew a few meters back by the impact, and hitting her back on a tree trunk, which cracked slightly.

Monica's mouth opened in surprise, and looked towards the Aoyama woman. She was glowing… her battle aura was out. Automatically, Monica hid behind her new male toy, her hand still gripping on his neck, and watched the events unfold.

The older vampire, Ayane, seemed to rise out of the disturbed dust in the air, her eyes glowing. Motoko's form was hard and ready, her narrowed eyes looking at her opponent.

"What happened there?" she asked in a very cold tone. "You were wide open, inviting an attack."

The older vampire chuckled. "I see you're serious now."

"Get up, or I will pound you where you stand," Motoko replied.

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

The two antagonists looked at each other, waiting for the other to move. Motoko shifted to her unarmed form, her left hand slightly forward than her right, legs spread apart, bent slightly, ready to spring in action. Ayane just cracked her knuckles, and went to a basic position, her smile still present.

As the sun went down, that's when they both moved against each other. Motoko moved to the left as Ayane seemed to have disappeared from the forming shadows around them. He was able to dodge her incoming punch, and countered with a rising kick. She barely was able to home in on the attack as Ayane disappeared again, only to re-appear behind her to attack.

The action was fast… almost too fast for Monica to see. The way her sister moved indicated how serious she was in the match. The Aoyama warrior herself was no slouch either, slightly even faster than her older sister. She was combining her ki to augment her speed and her reaction time, coupled by her warrior's sense, she was obviously faring better than her sister…

Well, that won't last long, Monica thought with an evil smirk. Everything was going to start now.

Motoko suddenly dodged erratically as something came into her view. She barely dodged the incoming fist, which was a sudden surprise for her because she was definitely sure at the position they were in, the vampire could not, in any way, attack her from such an angle. But it seem that her enemy was reading her thoughts, and more attacks coming from blind angles. Motoko dodged two before it became too much, and was hit by the third attack.

Hit off balance, Motoko retreated, only for Ayane to keep coming after her. Remembering what her sister taught her, she just kept moving, dodging, looking for a place to take a breather and retake her equilibrium. She finally got the chance after dodging a straight, where she rolled forward, and hid behind a tree.

Motoko took a few deep breathes, her mind trying to figure out how the vampire was attacking her. There was no way a single being could attack her like that… unless…

Yes, she thought darkly. There was no doubt. Cowardly beings these dark ones are… they would have something this dishonorable up their sleeves.

"Are you done hiding, you little human?" the older vampire called.

Motoko slid from behind the tree, and faced her opponent again with a slight smile. She posed again, but this time, quite unlike her earlier form. Her legs spread slightly parallel to each other, her knees bent. Her arms were down at her side, fingers spread, shoulders tensed.

"What is that?" the older vampire laughed. "Trying to scare my by looking intimidating? It won't WORK!"

The scream at the end was followed by an instant appearance in front of Motoko, who nimbly, with her left hand, blocked the incoming strike. Her eyes narrowed, and looked down, and she saw it… coming out of the shadows at her right was another fist coming at her. Twirling, using her right foot as a pivot, she dodged the incoming attack, and at the same time, striking with her back arm towards the older vampire.

There was an enjoyable feeling of having hit her opponent. But she didn't have to enjoy the feeling. With her left hand now free, she grabbed the extended arm, whose owner was still hidden behind the shadows, and with all her strength and momentum gathered from the turn, threw the other offending person to where Ayane had fell.

Another Ayane seemed to have come from the shadows toppled on top of each other. Motoko's theory was tested true… twins. The two had been fooling her all this time. One of them would attack from front, while the twin would hide in the shadows and attack openings that would be left after Motoko's initial defense.

She guessed that the twin was hiding behind her sister's shadow, and being identical twins, it was hard to discern the two from each other. But now the tables have turned.

"Lucky shot," Ayane muttered darkly.

"Lucky shot," the twin said at the same time, giving it an odd tone, almost like an echo.

"Hmph, your cowardly tactics are no longer effective against my perfect defense," Motoko stated going back to her position. "Come at will."

"You better not underestimate me," the twins muttered at the same time again. One jumped behind the other, and disappeared in the shadows, and whoever was left in the front, came charging again towards Motoko.

But it was useless. Motoko's defensive position was created in a way to be able to dodge, block, and counter-attack multiple opponents with relative ease using circular motions, pivots and re-direction. This was one of the few advanced forms ever taught in Shinmei-ryu. At her level, Motoko could face two, and sometimes three opponents (though not as effectively).

Motoko dodged, blocked, and countered what the vampire twins would throw at her. The tide seemed to shift in front of Monica's eyes as her sister was thrown, punched, and kicked away from her opponent. She growled, tightening her hug against the male, who seemed to have stirred.

"… Mo… to… ko…" Keitaro whispered.

Almost everyone felt his presence, as Ayane seemed to pause on her assault, looking towards Monica, who tightened her grip around his neck. Motoko took a momentary gaze towards him, but focused back on her opponent.

"Wait a little while, my pet," Monica whispered closely at Keitaro's ear. She then looked towards Ayane, and said loudly, "Kill her already! Stop playing with her!"

Motoko scoffed silently. The vampire's older sister was nothing but a one-trick pony. After being found, her attacks are almost useless. Her speed wasn't that great, as far was Motoko was concerned, she was faster. It also didn't help that Ayane and her twin were now predictable.

"Mo… toko…" Keitaro whispered again, a bit more strongly. "Don't fight… run…"

_Shut up for a moment, Urashima,_ Motoko thought. His voice was distracting her.

Again, the vampire came with a frontal assault. It was time to finish this. Going back to her offensive form, she planned to finish off this vampire and her twin. Even without her blade, she would snap their heads off bare-handed. Blocking the initial strike, she suddenly lunged towards behind her opponent, knowing full well the twin would be attacking her from behind.

She timed it correctly. Motoko's smile appeared as her opponent's twin came to view. From her angle, she could see the sudden shock on her face as her claws were out, but now were not directing to Motoko's back, but to her sister's front. Using her right leg, she placed it on her opponent's back, and pushed her towards her attacking twin.

There was the ugly sound of flesh being ripped, and Ayane shouted in pain.

"Run…" Keitaro muttered again. Motoko felt incensed.

_I am winning here, Urashima! Quiet down! _Motoko thought harshly. Was the man blind? Or was he trying to become some sort of man of chivalry? If he thought that his words of "bravery" impressed her, he should be thinking again.

Jumping over the stabbed vampire, Motoko, from the air, grabbed the twin's shoulder, landed on the ground, and using all her back strength, threw the vampire towards the tree. Now that she isolated Ayane, she grabbed the vampire's shoulders, locked her foot behind the opposite leg and ankle, and with all her strength, flipped forward.

"Shinmei-ryu!" Motoko whispered her attack, calling forth some ki in her. "Ukigumo - Tsumuji Issen!!"

A grapple technique from her school. Pulling the opponent with her with a spin, the attack was a powerful one that didn't need much drawing strength from the practitioner. It could be used as a stunner, able to knock the air and consciousness out of the opponent, but with a slight modification, it could be used lethally by making them land their head hard on the ground, breaking their necks.

And Motoko was about to finish off her first opponent. A broken neck may be enough to kill a vampire, but even if it doesn't, she still would have enough time to make sure she could finish the job herself.

Motoko suddenly felt a something catch on her throat, pulling her backwards from her circle arc. The force on her neck chocked her as she was forced to stop her motion and weakened her grip against the vampire.

She fell flat on the ground, coughing. She growled as she tried to take a stand, but the pain prevented her from fully standing. She could hear voices, though.

"Sister… are you fine?"

From the sound, it was her twin… but that was impossible! There was no way she could recover that fast! Motoko looked towards the speaker… she looked like Ayane… it was the twin… but at the same time, it wasn't. For a moment, her mind was confused at what she was seeing, until Keitaro seemed to speak again.

"There are three of them…"

Motoko's eyes widened. Everything came together, like how Monica was exclaiming to her sister to stop playing with her even though it was obvious at that point Ayane or her twin couldn't really do anything… also why Keitaro was telling her to run even though she was winning.

Motoko was about to charge in towards the second twin while she was seemingly distracted by helping her fallen sister up when suddenly a leg lashed towards the side of her face, kicking her so hard she was thrown a few meters away.

"Stupid little bitch," the second twin muttered, now fully recovered. She walked towards Motoko who she just kicked a second ago. "Tried to kill my sister! Take this!"

Motoko groaned as she was kicked in the stomach again and again. The last kicked picked her up from the ground, and thrown painfully towards a tree. Her ki blocked some of the painand it kept her awake, but her head was getting groggy. She knew she wasn't going to last any longer than this.

Then, her finger touched something odd. It was cold metallic, and smooth. Shifting her eyes, she saw the black sheathe near her reach.

"Sister, are you okay?"

Motoko didn't know who was talking to whom and ignored them. She gathered up her strength and reached for the sword. In the corner of her eye, she could see the two twins looking at the Ayane who had a hole in her chest, which by Motoko's guess, was slowly healing. She didn't have much time.

Once she heals completely, they would be coming at her. Motoko's fingers slowly trembled as she bent down and grabbed the sheathe sword. Her eyes went towards Keitaro, who was still held against by the younger vampire. She planned the strike… first would be the little one, to save Keitaro, and then, she'd take care of those cowardly threesome.

She stood up, using the tree as her support, taking in deep breathes. Quickly, before they noticed her, she grabbed the hilt of the sword, and prayed to the gods watching over them for victory.

She unsheathed her weapon.

And everything went black.

**To Be Continued… **

* * *

_AN:_

_Sorry about the delay. lol… took a huge and long time off. I was busy getting new anime series, and taking my sweet time to watch them. I was also playing the new Tomb Raider game… :P Lara's one sexy raider. _

_Anyways, those who are following, thank you again for your support. I was a bit surprised on how many put this story on their alert list, and their fav too. I was touched. _

_Anyways, I'm keeping the next chapter a bit secretive. When can you expect it? Well, probably not a month or two from now, but if I'm in the mood I'll probably get it by three weeks. _

_Anyways, ja ne! _


	13. Chapter 13

* * *

**13 – **_"You are mine… Keitaro."_

* * *

"Ah, Urashima-san, good morning."

Keitaro smiled slightly towards the old woman behind the counter. He bowed his head, returning her greeting.

"Morning oba-san," he stated warmly.

"Is Motoko-han with you today?" she asked.

"No… not today," Keitaro replied evasively.

"Hmmm… I'm worried. Have you two had a falling out?" the old woman asked. "It's been two days already since you started living in the inn."

Yes, it's been two days since the vampire incident. Keitaro frowned slightly as the memory of that day was still fresh on his mind. He forced himself to smile towards the woman.

"She just has something to think about," he muttered.

"Hmmm," she shook her head disapprovingly. "It's a young man's job to help a woman. The least you can do is to let her share her pain with you."

"I'd be happy to, oba-san, really," Keitaro gave a sad smile. "But… she wouldn't let me near her."

"You didn't force yourself upon her, now did you?" the old woman asked, glaring towards him.

"Of course not," Keitaro replied with a disarming smile, raising his hands defensively. "I won't stay alive if I tried."

The old woman seemed to nod. "Well… I guess the only thing you can do is wait for her to come around, right?"

"Of course."

"Now that we got that out of the way, how can I help you, Urashima-san?" the old woman asked.

"I need to send a letter to someone," Keitaro stated, a bit glad the woman was now in her business mode.

"Back at home?"

"No," he replied, shaking his head. He handed out the envelope towards the woman, who took it without pause. She looked at it for a moment, and back towards Keitaro with a raised eyebrow.

"Kyoto?" she asked.

"Yes, that's for Motoko-san's family," Keitaro nodded. "It's an update for her older sister is expecting us a few days from now."

"Urgent?" the old woman asked. "If you want, we can speed send this so it arrives thirty minutes from now instead of using the regular mail service."

"How long will it arrive using the regular service?"

"About a day from now. So, should I speed send this letter?" the old woman asked.

"No, it's not that urgent," Keitaro grinned slightly. "How much?"

Keitaro paid the regular rate, and after saying his goodbye's, left the old woman to her own devices. Unbeknownst to him, though, the woman took an envelope opener, and ripped the flap in half, and extracted a two paged letter.

She studied it for a minute, and then moved at the back of her shop, and went towards her fax machine. She grabbed the phone, and dialed a number.

The other line picked it up.

"Good morning…"

"Tsuruko-sama, good morning," the old woman greeted.

"Ah, oba-san! This is a pleasant surprise." 

"The Urashima man wants to send you a letter," the old woman stated. "He went for the regular rate, though I believe you might want it immediately."

"Ah, oba-san, thank you for the head's up. Please send it. I'll open up the fax tone now." 

* * *

Keitaro, clueless on what's happening back there, was slowly walking back towards the Inn. He was devoid of emotion. He couldn't really think of anything. He just wanted to go back to his room, lie down, and get some more winks. 

He greeted the innkeeper behind the counter, and moved straight up the stairs. He grabbed the keys from his pants pocket, and walked towards room 205 and unlocked the door. He opened it, entered, and removed his slippers before stepping on the matted floor.

The room was simple in design. It had two closets near the wall, a bed in the center. Left of the bed was a side table, which had a drawer. On top of that was a lamp shade, rectangular in shape, which stood up vertically. Inside was a white fluorescent U-tube light, and it was covered by a simple white paper, not unlike ones used on sliding doors.

There were no windows. Opposite side of the wall where the closets were placed was a small door for the bathroom, which was a simple shower, toilet bowl, and a sink.

The whole place was quite minimalist. It was not something Keitaro would hope for as a home, nor did he view it as such. This was the place for him to be until Motoko would calm herself down.

He removed his shirt, and slid down his bed, and looked up in the ceiling. He sighed, and closed his eyes, and his mind wandered towards the time he was ensnared by that young vampire who wanted to make him his pet…

* * *

"There are three of them…" 

Keitaro ignored the squeezing sensation he felt. The vampire didn't seem too keen in having him share such information, but she didn't dare break his neck. He knew this because she said that she wanted him as a pet, and to have a pet, she'd need him alive.

Vampires are quite the power-tripping species. They could have turned him to one of their own, and have him kept as a pet slave for all eternity… or at least until they get bored with him, but in their minds, what's fun about keeping a vampire pet? Having a human pet is much more fun for them. Much more useful too.

Besides… the third twin… no, triplets. The triplets now fully revealed themselves as Motoko was about to finish one of them off. Keitaro was forced to watch painfully as the second Ayane seemed to have finally recovered from being thrown away like a rag doll, and before he could even warn Motoko, she was kicked hard on the side of the face.

He winced as Motoko was kicked over and over again, the last one strong enough to throw her away.

"Hehe… how does it feel, my little pet, watching your little bitch die?" the vampire holding him down giggled.

He didn't reply.

"Answer me!" she demanded all of the sudden.

Keitaro was about to reply unkindly, hoping to throw her off balance and hopefully buy Motoko some time. He'd also have to insult the triplets to get their attention. It would give the Aoyama warrior the time she needed to make a plan and take a breather… but… if by chance Motoko gets killed…

He'd been bitten painfully by that Ayane once already. He'd rather not experience it again. And that older vampire and her two sisters seemed like sadists, and what's worse than a bite of a vampire are three bites of three vampires at the same time… but Keitaro needed to do this. Their lives were at stake. His mind quickly thought of an abrasive reply, when suddenly, he felt a dark energy wash over them.

The energy was by far stronger than what the four vampires were exuding, and quite different. Monica, that young vampire hugging him down, shivered suddenly, and her mouth hung open.

"W… what was that…?" she muttered silently.

There was a slight cackle. The triplets seemed to look towards the direction of the laugh. Keitaro and Monica included. And what he saw shocked him.

In the middle of dark aura, which was forming a tornado, was Motoko, who was looking back at them with blank eyes. On her hand was the Hina blade, fully unsheathed. She pointed the sword towards the vampires, her teeth gritting together.

"You cowardly dark creatures," Motoko's voice sounded dead to him. "You think you can just steal away what is mine?"

The triplets were taken aback. Looking at each other, they planned up their next phase of attack, but suddenly, like the wind, Motoko moved without even being noticed by anyone. The next thing Keitaro could make out was the swordswoman seemed to suddenly teleport in between the triplets, and their heads all came off at the same time.

"SISTERS!!" Monica shouted rather loudly that Keitaro felt his ears ring slightly.

Motoko, in a demonic form for the lack of words, seemed to slowly approach them. Keitaro felt his spine tense up automatically with the amount of mana and ki surrounding Motoko. She was scaring him. Each step she took towards him increased the amount of fear he was feeling. He could remotely recall that feeling, during the time he was rescuing Laharl, and that weird creature came in.

If he remembered correctly, it was called a Kugai.

But at that time, he wasn't paying much attention to it as he was towards the Golden Maiden. And the creature wasn't coming on to him while he was helplessly pinned by some vampire either.

"Stay back!!" Monica muttered, holding Keitaro tighter than before. "I'll crush his neck! I swear!"

"You dare place your unworthy hand on my property?!" Motoko demanded with a slight sneer. Her sword shifted, and moved dangerously near Keitaro.

As much as he found the whole thing scary, he was a bit awed and quite flabbergasted by the way Motoko was speaking. Was she referring to him as _her__property_? He might have found it rather provocative and quite endearing if she wasn't swinging that black blade near his face.

"Stay back!!" Monica warned again.

"Unhand him!" Motoko replied with a slight downward swing.

Out from the tip of the sword, as fast as lightning passed through the air, going towards Keitaro's shoulders. His eyes widened as he suddenly felt the sharpness of the wind slice through his skin, and he screamed in agony as he thought his arm was severed.

It wasn't… though Monica wasn't lucky as her arm that was resting on his shoulder was severed, and her screams were much more feral and louder than his. Keitaro scrambled away immediately, still feeling her dead hand around his neck. On his chest, he could feel the blood from the severed arm flowing.

He removed it with haste, and moved hurriedly and placed his back on one of the tree trunks, and sat there, having a clear view of Motoko and the younger vampire. But a few moments later, he suddenly wished he wasn't there to witness what was coming.

"No… please… spare me!" Monica stated, raising her good arm. Her severed arm was regenerating, but even with that, she lost the will to fight.

It didn't do her any good though. Motoko's arm mercilessly came down and sliced the other arm without hesitation. Keitaro winced, moving his eyes away as the vampire screamed in agony. He was about to look again when the vampire continued to scream as Motoko, in her still dead voice, stated:

"Accept your punishment for thinking of being worthy of touching what is not yours!"

Each of her words was accented with faint, yet unmistakable sound of a blade going down again and again. Keitaro's mind was slowly filling up with images of blood and the look of the vampire as she was sliced over and over again. Her screams didn't seem to stop, which meant that Motoko hasn't even touched her neck.

After a moment, silence finally blessed him. He opened his eyes, and looked up. His eyes widened as he saw Motoko's tall form standing over him. Covered in blood. His eyes dared dart away from her and towards the vampire, and his stomach turned.

Monica wasn't dead, but she was drifting there. There were two ways to kill a vampire. One was by simply cutting off their heads. The other was draining all their blood. The latter was impossible to do without causing enough massive damage that the vampire's regeneration powers couldn't cope.

And Motoko did just that.

Monica's arms were severed, as well as what seemed to be her left part of her brain. Her neck was cut too, though only partly. Her stomach was sliced open, and Keitaro didn't even bother to look to see what spilled on the ground from the wound. Her eyes were blankly staring at the air.

She wasn't dead… but… soon, she would be.

Keitaro looked away from the gruesome sight, back towards Motoko who was staring at him. She came close to him. He could feel the blade on his arm. She smirked at him.

She stared at him.

Her eyes were boring to his.

"Keitaro…"

* * *

Keitaro sat up, feeling the cold sweat on his back and face. He panted slightly as the after images of his dream were no hurry as it slowly faded from the back of his head. He shook his head. 

There was a slight ringing on his head, and it took a moment to realize that it wasn't his head but it was the phone. Keitaro looked at it for a moment, wondering who would call him. Only one person came to mind, and after it rang again, he hurriedly picked it up.

"Motoko?" he asked.

"I'm sorry lover boy, but it's your sister in law!" 

The first thing Keitaro did was curse out unintentionally. He had been expecting Motoko, and even though it was more of a foolish hope, he didn't expect the fake saccharine voice of Tsuruko.

"Excuse me? Did you just call me a devil-woman?" 

Her voice changed from sugary to dead-panned, annoyed and serious. Keitaro just sighed. He got excited over nothing.

"Sorry about that, Aoyama-san. You caught me in a bad time," he muttered. Then, his eyes shifted as his mind began to click. "How did you get this number, and how did you know I'd be here?"

She seemed to giggle.

"Let's just say I received your letter. The one you sent this morning." 

His first thought was annoyance at the old woman. And then came realization.

"Were you watching us?" Keitaro asked.

"Of course I was, and still am, Urashima-san. Whatever would I do if you ran away?"

"I wouldn't," Keitaro muttered angrily.

"Of course not, you're a smart boy." She giggled again. "And you're lucky you are, because, Urashima-san… in the event you did run from our deal, I will personally come and hunt you down. And I wouldn't want to say what would happen to your grandmother's inn nor your family's reputation when you get me mad." 

Keitaro growled silently. "Won't you're husband get jealous, spending more time with your sister's husband than him?" he asked with a slight contempt. "Or does he fear you because he got the same deal as I did?"

"Now, now, no need to get that personal." She paused. "Does that mean you fear me, Urashima-san?" 

"You tell me what I should feel, 'sister-in-law'," he muttered the last word sarcastically. "You not only forced me into a marriage with your sister, but challenged me to a battle, which is quite dangerous for me by the way, just so you can 'help' your sister grow up, and to fix her problems found on her head.

"Then, I find out that during our secret training, you're actually keeping tabs on us…"

She cut him. "Ah, Urashima-san, you're looking at it the wrong way. Its not my fault my sister decided to train on a town largely owned by the Aoyama's, is it?" 

So that's how Tsuruko seemed to know where he was and how she got the letter so fast… Motoko, that damned idiot.

"Well, if you called me, it means you have a response to my letter, right?" Keitaro asked.

"Yes. I'm quite impressed on how you wrote a two page letter to only ask for a four day extension. Was it really necessary to add a fully detailed explanation on you and my sister's confrontation with vampires?" 

"I thought it was a rather sufficient way to give valid reasoning to my request," Keitaro muttered.

"Well, you wasted your time, Urashima-san. One week was quite sufficient time for preparations. It's not my fault you cannot meet the expectations." 

"It's not about meeting the expectations," he gritted his teeth. "We were just unexpectedly attacked, and while normally, I wouldn't ask for a time extension for something so trivial, I got injured and that will set me back."

"The way you described it, it was a ki cut to the shoulder. It will take a day or two to heal… it won't set you back that much." 

Keitaro took a deep breathe, his free hand touching the bridge of his nose. This woman knew how to drive him towards the wall, and for the past few days, with the accumulating problems, he was really getting the short end of the stick, and it was pissing him off.

"Won't you consider, please?" he asked as a last attempt.

"No, Urashima-san. I won't consider."

There was a moment of silence in which Keitaro's eyes, unbeknownst to him, were slowly narrowing in a deadly glare directed towards the ground. His free hand, from the bridge of his nose, was on his side, balled to a hard fist. His lips twitched angrily.

"You're a real piece of work aren't you?" he muttered darkly.

"Yes I'm a real bitch, aren't I? That's what you wanted to call me right?" 

The tone of Tsuruko became dark as well, but Keitaro didn't care. He felt too angry to care. He had it up to here with that woman.

"That's right," he replied. "You are one sick, twisted psychopathic woman. I can call you a lot of names, but I know it won't even be worthy enough to describe how many screws have been lost from your head."

"Huuu… such a dangerous way you speak. If I hadn't known better, Urashima-san, you seem to have the intent to kill me." 

Keitaro growled.

"But I don't blame you, Urashima-san… after all, this is a big inconvenience for you, isn't it? Especially between you and that woman… what was her name again? Ah, yes… Narusegawa-san."

His head suddenly craned up a moment. Something was up.

"And who else… ah, yes. Konno-san, Maehara-san, Otohime-san, and Su-san. What a happy place your grandmother's inn might be for a virile young male, surrounded by young women. I can imagine the disaster that would happen if somehow news leaks out about your little escapades." 

"Escapades?"

"I wonder how people will react knowing that these girls are living under a male landlord? Of course, if you know how to twist your facts a little, I can make it so that you are actually juvenile, abusive, violent, and irresponsible. Another twist there, I can add a spice of controversy, ranging from sex scandals to blackmail." 

Keitaro gritted his teeth. "Like anyone will actually believe that kind of bullshit."

"Oh, Urashima-san, you won't believe how many people would actually listen to a concerned older sister stating over the poor state of the dormitory where her younger sister resides in. Coupled by the Aoyama name, I am willing to wager that many people will back up on my claims." 

"Then do it," he stated. "I dare you."

"I'm surprised that you are very arrogant to the point you're losing common sense, Urashima-san. I hold all the cards right now. Do you really want to dare play my hand? Are you willing to risk your future? Because if you believe that I'm going to hold back on my word because of pity, then you are sadly mistaken. You're nothing more than a means to an end. I don't care what happens to you… I wouldn't care if you're some noble human being, or plain evil. The only reason why I am wasting my time with you is because my sister chose you. 

"In any other day, if we ever met, I'd have just given you a small smile, but wouldn't bat an eyelash if I hear you were killed, murdered, maimed, or burned. You are nothing… but a pawn in this game. You either do what I tell you to, or suffer my wrath." 

Keitaro sighed silently. The woman's a brick wall, and what bothered him more was she had him at the palm of her hand. For a slight moment, he wanted to throw the phone out, escape… but even if he did, he was sure the bitch would keep her word and come after him. She could start using his friends and tenants as leverage as well… and while Narusegawa can, harshly he thought in anger, rot in hell, he wouldn't forgive himself if Mu-chan and Kitsune got involved.

Even if he wasn't in his world, Keitaro couldn't bring himself to run from her or to anyone else. Tactical retreats, he can take, but an all out run is inexcusable for him. Besides… he wanted her dead or beaten. Both if he could.

He went along. For now.

"What do you want, Tsuruko-san?" he asked. Calmly.

"Now that's better. And I don't need anything dear boy… I have all I need." 

"You want something, Tsuruko-san," he insisted. "Or else you wouldn't start threatening me with exposing my 'escapades' to the media. You insist on not giving me an allotted time to heal, which wasn't even much. You need something from me, don't you?"

Silence.

"Well… there is one thing I want from you." 

"What is it?"

"Your heart." 

Keitaro didn't know if he heard her right. He took the phone away from his ear for a moment, looking at it confusedly. "Excuse me?"

She giggled.

"It might have sounded wrong…" 

"It did sound wrong. Were you asking me to love you?"

"No, no silly boy. I want you to unconditionally submit to me and to my sister. When you and Motoko lose --" 

"If we lose…" Keitaro cut her.

"Oh, whatever you like. If you lose, I know you're not the kind who'd just easily settle down with my sister, nor will you act like the support she'll need. A man who would dare call me a psychopathic woman with a few screws lose has a large pride, and that kind of man hates to lose.

"If you lose, I want you to unconditionally take my sister as your wife, unconditionally take her as you have fallen in love with her. You will drop the Urashima name, and adopt the Aoyama name. Your children will be Aoyamas, and thus subjected by the rules and regulations of the clan.

"In short… I don't want you to put a temper tantrum, and whine when you lose." 

She seemed to giggle at the last part. That giggle incensed him.

"If I promise to… would you give me the extension I asked for?" he asked.

"Four days for your complete submission to my terms and towards my sister? It's a deal even I cannot resist. You have four more days. Use them well, Urashima-san." 

She hung the phone, and the line went dead. Keitaro himself was unmoving for a few minutes, and after being unfrozen from his temporary state of stasis, brought the arm of the phone back to its cradle. He felt rather sick, as his mind contemplated on what he just did. He sighed.

"I need a damned drink…" he cursed silently. He looked towards his watch, and cursed again as he realized it was too early to even contemplate on a drink.

"Damn this world… damn Aoyamas… stupid samurais…" he muttered without pause as he slid back to the bed, and wrapped a pillow around his head. He didn't feel like doing anything for that day, and lost his appetite for lunch.

He did what he could only feel like doing.

He fell asleep.

* * *

"Keitaro…" Motoko's voice sounded on the edge as her seemingly dead eyes looked at him with joy. "My Keitaro… are you hurt?" 

"I… I'm fine," Keitaro replied dumbly as he kept his eye on the black blade which Motoko was still holding. "Motoko… you can let go of the blade now. It's over…"

But she didn't listen as she got on her knees, and brought her face closer to his. Before he could even move or think, she kissed him deeply yet forcefully on the lips.

"Umph!" Keitaro groaned in surprise as his head was forced back on the tree trunk. He tried to move his good arm towards Motoko, push her away, but she didn't budge. Her tongue lashed with his. He could taste the copper flavor of the blood around her; he could feel her free hand roaming on his chest.

She suddenly took hold of his shirt, and painfully ripped it from his body, while still keeping the kiss. Again, Keitaro tried to free himself, only to feel Motoko's body close in on his, pinning him down completely.

She raised her head. She grinned at him.

"We have all the time in the world," she stated in a sort of deathly bliss. Without warning, she began to remove her top, exposing her bindings. She seemed to giggle. "This won't do… how silly of me…" and she stabbed the sword on the ground right beside them, and with her two hands, slowly begun to undo the bandages.

"Motoko, stop it," Keitaro muttered with a bit more strength, his good arm stopped and held up one of her hands. "What's going on? What are you doing?"

"I am doing what I supposed to have done a long time ago…" she stated. "Now, my little Keitaro… let go so I can remove this restricting bandage."

"No, Motoko," he stated seriously. "Stop this… you're not being yourself."

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. A nasty frown appeared on her lips, and before Keitaro could do anything, he suddenly grunted as an electrical impulse went to his brain, translating as pain.

His eyes went towards the source of his suffering… his wounded shoulder. Motoko's free hand was there, squeezing it hard, and then harder. He shouted.

"AGGHHH!! Stop it Moto… ARGH!!"

"Do not dare talk back to me in that tone! You are mine!" she exclaimed as she squeezed more. "I will do whatever I want to you. You have no right to refuse!"

She kissed him again, but this time, it was not as enjoyable as the last one. It was more like being eaten than given a kiss. Keitaro groaned as she squeezed his bad shoulder again. Her free hand was feeling him on his thigh, going for his pants.

Through the pain, Keitaro tried to push Motoko away with his free hand, only for that to be slapped away, and suddenly, to his surprise he felt a hard hit across his face.

"Such a disobedient property," Motoko growled. She squeezed his shoulder again. "Keep still, or I'll slice your arm off."

"Agh…! Let go of me!" Keitaro muttered moving his body through the pain, and was able to raise a knee to put a wedge between him and Motoko. But it was no use as he was hit over and over again with her open palm. Keitaro could feel the stinging cut of his lip, and the hits took out his spirit.

She forcefully lowered his knee, and kept her position as close to him as possible. She laughed cruelly and licked his bleeding lip, and bit it rather painfully afterwards.

"Its no use, my Keitaro… no use…"

She grinned at him.

"You are mine, Keitaro… you are mine… you are all mine…"

"No… I'm not…" Keitaro growled. He grabbed her neck. "I'm not yours!"

* * *

Keitaro sat up again, holding his head, feeling the slight coldness on his damp back. He cursed as the memory of that day still continued to haunt him. He shook his head. 

He had been having those dreams since yesterday, and it was one of the few reasons he's been feeling sleepy for the whole day. He kept waking up last night in random times, and Keitaro couldn't get enough sleep he needed.

Yawning awake, he rubbed the sleepiness of his eyes, and the sweat off his forehead. He looked at his watch, and sighed. It was already evening. Sleeping around like this was going to mess his internal clock.

He shook his head again, and stood up. He grabbed his discarded shirt, and checked his pants for his wallet. Inside was a respectable amount of cash, so he wouldn't need to withdraw from Keitaro's account again for a while.

Wearing his shoes, he exited the room and locked the door behind him. He greeted the innkeeper as exited the building, and breathed the cold night air. He yawned again and stretched his arms up, and scratched a spot behind his neck. His stomach grumbled silently, begging for some nutrition as he had skipped lunch altogether.

He smiled weakly, and walked towards the nearest restaurant. It was one of the few restaurants that Motoko showed him during the training. It mainly served ramen, but it also served buns, rice toppings and other meals. It was a staple that filled Keitaro decently, and was quite cheap too.

He was greeted by the owner's teen daughter outside, and he smiled in return.

"Good evening," he said cheerfully.

"Evening, Urashima-san!" the girl replied. "Are you going to eat here too?"

"Yeah…" Too? What was the girl talking about?

"Then come in!" she smiled. "Enjoy the food!"

"Thanks," Keitaro mumbled as he raised his hand to move the flap away from his face as he entered. "Evening."

"A, Urashima-san!" the owner waved. "Whatcha need?"

"Well…" Keitaro was about order when in the corner of his eye, he caught another eye. He did a double-take when he saw a person with long luxurious black hair, porcelain skin, and red and white hakama looking back at him with equal surprise.

"Motoko…" he whispered inaudibly.

She looked away from him, her chopsticks dropping on the ground.

Keitaro smiled slightly, and shrugged. "I'm sorry, I'm not hungry actually. I'll be back later," he said towards the owner.

"Uh… okay…"

Keitaro ignored the surprised daughter as he went out of the restaurant. He walked automatically back to his hotel room. He hadn't gotten far though when he heard the unmistakable sound of patting footsteps coming from behind him. He stopped, and slightly turned to see who it was.

He was surprised.

"Keitaro…!" Motoko stated, breathing slightly. "Wait…"

He turned, and faced her.

"C… can we talk?" she asked.

"Sure," he readily replied. "Let's talk."

**To Be Continued… **

* * *

_-AU-_

_I can't believe I actually wrote this chapter this fast… considering the fact it took me a month or so to do the last one. And this one took less than a week to make. ;; I don't know… it's a bit different from the last one (one being more of conversation than narrative). I hope the quality's still the same, though my friend told me it's fine and good. _

_Anyways, those interested, these are the new anime's I've been watching. _

_**Kaze no Stigma** (a good example of the misunderstood hero facing against all odds... and if anyone read my old Project Ranma stories, this is kinda a favorite plot of mine. :P)_

_**Kindaichi Case Files** (too few episodes fansubbed… damn, and it's very interesting too…) _

_**You are Under Arrest Season 1** (a fave from my younger days…)_

_**PLANETES** (its interesting)_

_**Scrapped Princess** (also interesting) _

_I'm going to get Sumomo mo Momomo mo. I hear the male is an unappreciative love interest, but knowing the leading lady copies the Kamen Rider's poses as she does her martial arts move hooked me. XD_

_Anyways… when's the next chapter? Who knows again. Though here's a bonus for those still reading… it will be the last part of the training 'arc'. After that, it's the face off against Tsuruko. Enjoy guys, and later! _

* * *


	14. Chapter 14

* * *

**14 – **_Stolen Kisses_

* * *

The situation was not exactly what Keitaro would profess to be one of his betters. He was injured, and now covered in blood, holding Motoko Aoyama by the neck as she continued to force herself on him.

"No… I'm not…" Keitaro growled. He grabbed her neck. "I'm not yours!"

"Keitaro, really…" Motoko stated as she squeezed his shoulder again, earning a shout of pain. His grip on her neck immediately fell. And like earlier, she used her free hand to slap across his face again. "I would have thought you'd enjoy this… my body feeling yours. My tongue with yours. Can you feel my skin, Keitaro? Can you taste my wanting?"

"To… hell… with… your… wanting!" Keitaro growled through gritted teeth. "Let go of me this instant, Aoyoma-san!"

"No!" she replied strongly. "I'll never let go! You are mine, Keitaro! Mine! Can't you see?" She squeezed his shoulder harder again, and he yelped pain. "I want you Keitaro… and I know you want me too… so, stop your useless resisting--"

"I do not want you, Aoyama-san," he cut her off, his eyes glaring to hers. His harsh eyes seemed to momentarily pause her movements. "I never wanted you."

His words seem to affect her. Her smile seem to wane, getting faker by the moment.

"You are lying, Urashima…" she stated.

"No. I'm telling the truth," he grinned at her darkly. "You're nothing more than a selfish spoiled brat who goes around hating men because your older sister got married. You use your sword to deliver your own brand of selfish justice… justice derived from your hate!

"You want me!?" he continued, his tone building up. "Stop spouting out bullshit! Even if it's true, who will ever love a woman like you! I hate you! I despise you! You are nothing to me!"

Her slap rang painfully on his ears as he felt his blood flow from his already split lips. Her hand came in hard and fast, Keitaro was slapped again and again, each getting stronger to the point her palm wasn't open anymore, and she was using her closed fist. The pain on his shoulder was now ignored, replaced with the soreness of his battered face.

Motoko let go of him, standing up tall. Her hand dove towards the dark handle of the blade, and in one swift motion, pulled it from the ground. With a deftly twist, the blade came in contact at once towards his neck. Keitaro could literally feel the cold blade slowly cutting effortlessly his skin as her eyes bore to his once more. Her mouth turned to a large ugly frown.

"For a slave, you sure are talkative. And here I was, being easy on you," Motoko seemed to laugh. "You do not want me, you say? Fine. You hate me, you say? That's fine too." Her grin turned evil. "So… if I can't have you… no one will."

She raised the blade, and positioned it to her side, and without hesitation, brought it towards Keitaro's neck.

* * *

"Here you go, Urashima-san," one of the waitresses of the restaurant stated with a smile as she handed the ordered bowl of ramen towards Keitaro. 

He accepted it with a smile, and grabbed a pair of wrapped fused chopsticks from its container in the table he was sitting in. Taking out its plastic shell, he took hold of the two sides, and split them. He rubbed them together to take out splinters, before he dove in towards his meal.

It was filling. After he savored the flavor, he spoke.

"You know, you called me back here to talk, but you're being quiet," he muttered quietly. He looked towards Motoko.

Her eyes were down towards her own untouched bowl of ramen. Her hands were resting on the still fused wooden chopsticks.

When she was still quiet after a few minutes, Keitaro got her attention again.

"Oi! Motoko! You awake!?"

She blinked, and looked towards Keitaro and then back down. "Oh… yes, sorry, Keitaro-san…" she muttered apologetically. "I am… I'm just troubled."

Keitaro looked at her for a moment before going back to his food. He slurped quietly, grabbing bits of vegetables along the way, and sipped some of the flavored soup. As he chewed on his food silently, he impatiently twirled one of the chopsticks in his hand.

"I see you aren't wearing any underwear," Keitaro commented, staring at Motoko intently.

"Uh… what…? Ah, yes… I see…" she replied blankly.

Keitaro heard a snap in his head. He looked at her before putting his chopsticks down. "I'm leaving," he said as he stood up.

"No, wait! Wait! I'm sorry!" Motoko's arm came fast, grabbing Keitaro on the shoulder, and let go when he suddenly groaned in pain, and sat down. "I'm sorry!"

"AGH, damnit Motoko," Keitaro growled and cursed silently, holding his injured shoulder tenderly. "Take it easy already!"

He was about to say more when he stole a look towards Motoko, and found her head down, and unmistakably, crying. He sighed, and scratched his head before going back to his noodles. When the young woman just sat there, unmoving, he sighed again, and raised his arm, and called in one of the waitresses.

"Yes?" the waitress came.

"You got any sake?" Keitaro asked. Motoko looked up suddenly.

"Yes! Will I bring some here?"

"Two bottles. Cold ones. Two _chokos_ too," he replied.

As the waitress left, Motoko stared at Keitaro intently, her mouth twitching as if wanting to say something, but couldn't. When she saw his relaxed face smiling as he took in some of his noodles again, she couldn't hold her tongue anymore.

"Keitaro…"

"Yes?" he replied, eyes back on her.

"What's… what's the sake for?" Motoko asked.

"What is it for, Motoko-chan?" he shrugged. "To drink, of course."

"I don't drink…" she muttered.

"You should," he smiled disarmingly. "Helps you loosen up."

"I'm not some loose woman."

"I know you aren't," Keitaro rolled his eyes. "That's why I'm getting us both a drink. Because if you're just going to sit there quietly after dragging me here in the pretense of having a talk, then you're just spoiling my mood."

Motoko went silent again, and the waitress finally came back with two moderately sized sake bottles, and the respective cups. After Keitaro stated that he would pour his own cup, and the young swordswoman herself didn't reply to the waitress's question, and was automatically poured.

Keitaro drank his slowly, letting the taste of the alcohol linger on his taste buds, and slowly swallowed it. He shook his head when he felt a slight buzz, and grimaced, wondering briefly if this body was weak towards alcohol. He was starting to relax slightly.

He looked at Motoko again for a sign of movement, and when he got nothing, he sighed. "Your company's so bad, you make sake taste bad."

Silence. He sighed again, and stood up.

"Motoko, I'm leaving," Keitaro muttered.

"No…!" she stated, standing up as well. "Wait! I have to -!"

"Spit it out then!" Keitaro cut her angrily.

"I… I just… I wanted to apologize," Motoko finally said what was on her mind. "I apologize… and I'm…"

When she trailed of silently, Keitaro studied her quietly, patiently. He sat down, and she followed suit as he waited for a moment until she finally gained her momentum.

"I will do what I should have done!" she finally finished.

"Huh? Do what you should have done?" Keitaro asked. "And what is that?"

"I will talk to my sister… and see if I can get you out of this, Urashima," Motoko replied. She looked down for a moment, grabbing her chopsticks hard. "It was my fault in the first place. I should never have gotten you involved with this dispute. I'll go to Kyoto alone, first thing in the morning and apologize to her." She took a deep breathe. "It's the least I can do."

Keitaro looked at her for a moment, and he felt himself relaxing again, though this time, not because of the sake. Maybe it was her words, presence, or even her look as she was stating her conviction. It had no resemblance whatsoever with that woman.

"I'm kinda glad you aren't like your psychotic sister," he muttered darkly. "I've already had it up to here dealing with her."

"My sister!?" she gasped. "You… dealing? You mean, you talked to her!? When?"

"This morning… no, wait, afternoon," he replied after some thought. He really couldn't remember well. It must have been noon. It was an awful memory, anyway… good riddance if he couldn't remember.

"What did you both talk about!?" Motoko demanded.

"Business," Keitaro replied softly, looking sideways for a moment. He then poured himself some more sake.

"What kind of business?"

The young man made a slight clicking sound of annoyance as he drank from his cup slowly. Keitaro loved the relaxing sensation of alcohol, but he hated the way the conversation was going. But it was either the alcohol or that annoyance he felt after his conversation with Tsuruko, he wanted an outlet and was being quite generous in giving information.

But then again, this was Motoko. She deserved truthful answers after having saved him twice. He felt a whimsical thought enter his head as he remembered that particular detail. He smiled slightly.

"I asked for an extension," he replied after a moment. "Added an extra four days in our training… give you time to recover from that event two days ago. Well… I needed to recover too, so it wasn't only for you, before you get egoistical," he added in the end.

"An extension…?" Motoko took her right hand, and stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Did she agree?"

"She did… thankfully," Keitaro muttered the last part with slight anger.

"That's… strange for her," Motoko shook her head. "She doesn't usually things like extending deadlines unless…" her eyes widened, and looked at Keitaro. "Urashima! What did you give her!?"

"Huh?" he mocked surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"You gave her something! In exchange for an extension you gave her something!" Motoko stood up. She slapped the table hard that the china bowls shook. "What did you give her Urashima!?"

Keitaro scratched his head with annoyance. "Eh… none of your business, Motoko."

"YOU FOOL!" she shouted. "By asking for an extension… even if I go home and fully apologize and accept punishment…"

"She won't go for it," Keitaro finished.

"Well obviously since someone had to interfere!" she growled.

"No, Motoko, it's not that," Keitaro stared towards her. "Even if I hadn't 'interfered' as you say, she will not agree with your scenario… apologizing to her would just be a waste of time."

"And why would that be?"

"She wants me."

There was a moment of silence in which Motoko's angry form suddenly turned to shock as she heard those very words come out of his mouth. Her lips began to twitch as the meaning seemed to kick in her head, and her forehead seemed to crunch together as her right fist wound up to a tight ball.

"She… wants you?" she asked slowly. "Pray tell, Urashima… what did you actually mean by that?"

"For a supposedly pure unadulterated female, you got a dirty mind," Keitaro replied with suspicious eyes directed towards Motoko. "It means from day one, she decided to get me for the Aoyamas for some reason."

"You…? But why?" Motoko wondered. "I mean… you're weak."

Keitaro glared at her. That was uncalled for. "Weak is getting hit twice by the weak one, Aoyama…" he muttered darkly. "Besides… if one looks at the big picture… there are three reasons why your sister would do such a thing. One: she saw latent potential in me, and I could give the Aoyama family strong heirs… two: She feels you and I are compatible, and putting us together… and three: She's just a bitch."

Motoko blinked at the third.

"Personally, I think it's the third…" Keitaro continued, sipping on his cup. "But the main thing is… she wants me."

Motoko stared at Keitaro for a moment as he continued to eat his ramen and sipping his noodles. Her eyes narrowed.

"You're deluding yourself, Urashima," she muttered. "Under the influence of alcohol, being egoistic… it is so like you."

"Oh? I remember being a man without spine, without confidence… isn't that what you kept saying to me before Motoko?" Keitaro muttered as he remembered the diary of the Keitaro of this world.

She steamed. "Nevermind! I shall go back home tomorrow, and apologize to my sister properly and remorsefully." She paused. "Besides… it's not like we could work it out together."

Keitaro stole a look. "Eh? What do you mean?" he asked.

Motoko's head was down, avoiding his eyes. Her still untouched noodles were still, and her hand seemed to let the chopsticks she was holding go.

"Urashima… I… I remember that night… rather vividly," she stated softly. "I…" she clenched her fist again. "It was like a dream where I couldn't control myself… but I was hearing what was said, hearing what I was supposedly saying…I could smell the air… I could smell the blood… and… I remember your feelings towards me…"

She closed her eyes, trying to hide her emerging tears uselessly.

"Motoko…" Keitaro trailed off when she continued to talk.

"And I understand your feelings… after what I tried to do what I did…"

The image of her dark smile and ugly frown appeared. The dark blade held by her slender hand, readied to swing towards him.

"_Who will ever love a woman like you!? I hate you! I despise you! You are nothing to me!"_

"_If I can't have you… no one will."_

Keitaro swallowed the last bits of carrots he had been chewing and tilted the bowl and poured the remnants of the soup in his mouth. That done, he put the bowl down and poured his _choko_ with more sake. He sipped some again, and made some impatient clicking sound from his tongue.

"Motoko," he called her again. "I didn't really mean to say those things."

"Urashima, it's too late to comfort me," she smiled sadly. "I like it better when you are honest. I really do not mind at all."

"You don't listen well, do you?" he muttered, scratching behind his neck. "A bit like your sister… I guess." He poured his cup again. "Motoko… here…" and he offered his cup.

Motoko's eyes widened, surprised. "U… rashima?"

"I'm sharing my cup with you, Motoko," Keitaro stated solidly. "You should know what it means, right?"

Motoko's fingers enclosed around the cup, but she didn't dare raise it to her lips, nor made any movements. She just sat there, frozen as a statue, holding the _choko_, looking at it, and towards its owner, her tongue seemingly trying to find words.

"An indirect kiss."

Her frozen state shattered almost immediately as crimson color rose towards her cheeks. Her eyes widened, and her mouth hung open for the world to see.

"U-URASHIMA!" she shouted, almost dropping the cup.

"Oh, fine, fine, let's take the formal route…" and he cleared his throat. "Aoyama-san…" he muttered in a rather deep tone. "As a sign of friendship…" and he left the sentence hanging, though his hand motioned the cup she was holding.

"Urashima…" Motoko could only whisper, looking at Keitaro's eyes. "I… I don't understand. What you are doing contradicts everything you were saying that night!"

"That night isn't tonight, right?"

"You are not making any sense!" she declared madly.

"Why are you so desperate to pin everything on yourself, Motoko?" Keitaro asked.

"That night…"

"That night," he cut in suddenly, "you were not yourself."

"How would you know!?" she demanded.

"Motoko, I'm not stupid," he looked at her. "You were possessed that time… by the blade."

Her eyes widened. "H… how…"

"Look," Keitaro sighed, scratching behind his neck yet again. Normally, he would have already left the table, left the conversation because of Motoko's hard-headedness, but it was probably of melancholic aura around her that had him wanting to cheer her up.

Of course, it could have been the sake. His head was already all tingly.

"Alright… this is Motoko, alright?" and he shook his shoulders, nodded a few moments, and looked towards her with narrow eyes, helped by his two fingers, trying to stretch the skin at the side of his eyes. He also formed a rather exaggerated pout that made him look extremely silly.

"Urashima! You fiend!" he suddenly muttered in a fake deep yet feminine voice. "Males are nothing more than perverts. Prepare to suffer Heaven's Wrath!

"So, that's normally you…" he went back to his normal expression and voice. Across him, Motoko looked like she had been slapped, and hasn't recovered yet, but he paid her no mind. "And… that night, when you suddenly turned like this…"

Keitaro made his eyes have that wild streak, and his lips were smiling darkly. His tongue was hung out, and he seemed to be drooling slightly.

"Keitaro!! You are mine!!" and he raised his and put them on his shirt's center, and began to mock pull it apart, acting like he was wearing and removing a hamaka. "Oooh, such bindings aren't needed! I must remove them!" and then he reverted back to his regular expression.

"I think it was pretty clear you weren't yourself that night," he ended, and sipped from the sake bottle as Motoko was still holding on his cup.

Motoko was furious. "URASHIMA!" she shouted as she stood up again, her free fist raised.

"What?" Keitaro asked calmly, like she didn't look like she was about to kill him.

She glared at him hard, her arms shaking, almost spilling the sake in the choko she was still holding, but after a moment, she began to slowly calm down. She lowered her hands, and placed the cup on the table, and sat back down on her chair.

"What made you say it was the blade, Urashima?" she asked. "What if it was actually me? What if during that tenure… it was me all along?"

"The fact you stopped trying to… uh, make me a head shorter when I got that sheathe in that blade, and you haven't brought it around you anymore clinched it," he replied easily. He then looked at her seriously. "Motoko… will you accept my gesture?"

"I…" she looked towards the cup. "I… I can not… not after that night."

Keitaro stood up. "Aoyama-san, I have been insulted and dishonored," he muttered in a serious tone. The young swordswoman blinked as he looked down on her. "I challenge you, Aoyama-san."

"Uh… huh?" was her only reply.

* * *

Keitaro's back seemed cold and distant to Motoko as he led them towards the woods. Her brain was racked with confusion as she tried to wonder what was going on inside his head. Keitaro had specifically told her harshly where she stood in his eyes, and then, does a gesture of friendship with her? And now he's challenging her for refusing accepting it? 

"Aoyama-san…" Keitaro called as he stopped. He turned around. "For the insult, I'm challenging you to a duel."

"Urashima… it wasn't an insult…" Motoko muttered before she was cut off again.

"Shut up," he growled. "Use any means to defeat your opponent. Winner is decided by submission, or knockout!"

"Urashima… this is silly…"

Motoko didn't know what happened… all the sudden, she felt a blow in her abdomen and her senses going wild. She took a step back, and noticed Keitaro in front of her, his fist perturbing from her stomach.

"U… Urashima…"

"If I were you," he muttered before throwing another punch, "I'll get serious!"

Motoko recovered fast enough, and ducked the incoming punch, and moved back in two quick steps. Keitaro followed through, though, and without pause, unleashed a few punches and kicks that got Motoko off balance. She was surprised. She hadn't expected Keitaro to be this much advanced when it came to hand to hand combat… he always kept himself near her, moving side to side like a boxer and karate practitioner, taking small jumping steps, shifting his power from left to right according to his attacks.

Another fist came towards her face as she was thinking, and automatically, she covered her face automatically, only to feel another solid hit on her abdomen. Her eyes widened as she jumped back, realizing that he had feinted with the punch towards her face to hide another fist coming towards her from below.

Hybrid Karate and boxing, elements used by Kung Fu practitioners… for the five days she had been training Keitaro, he had never showed her signs of knowing this amount of skill. He kept close, shifting, pivoting, keeping her range of attack limited while he would successfully weave around her, and attack at blind angles in openings of her defense.

He was perfectly performing the basics of close quarters combat.

Motoko found herself in the air after she was struck by an open palm in the face, and he used her shift of balance to throw her over his shoulder. She landed painfully on the ground.

"U… Urashima…" she muttered as she tried to stand.

"Is there anything else you can say, Aoyama-san?" his shadowed form stood in front of her, staring down at her.

"You think… this will help?" she asked as she stood up completely, sluggishly. "What are you trying to do?"

"I hate your face," he replied coldly. "I will beat you into unrecognizable bloody pulp. Your face sickens me to the core, Aoyama. What is this garbage about us not working out together?"

"Ih… It's true!" she exclaimed.

"FOOL!" he shouted back. "You are desperately trying to blame yourself for the whole mess! I knew since the time you were forcing your kisses on me that you weren't yourself! Yet, you stubborn little girl, you keep going on yourself like some sort of fucking martyr! I knew it wasn't you! I said those things to wake you!

"And if you continue -!"

"You don't understand…" she cut him off, bowing her head.

"What don't I understand, Aoyama!?" Keitaro demanded.

"The… the sword… it wasn't controlling me," she muttered. "I… I saw my sister. She was right in front of me. Her voice… she tried to do things to you while I watched…"

"_What are you doing Motoko-chan? If you don't hurry… I'll steal him from you." _

"_Look at him kissing me so savagely. He wants me… he wants me bad, my little sister… and that is how it's supposed to be. After all, you are nothing but an insignificant little girl." _

The moans of her sister vibrated against her head once again as Motoko remembered the vision she saw after everything blacked out. Her sister was making love with Keitaro, and she could do nothing but watch.

She made love to him. He made love to her, oblivious to her presence. Motoko could feel her blood boil, as she wanted him to do what he was doing to her. Lust, jealousy, carnage…

Tears welled up on her eyes. She shivered. She was truly a monster to have those feelings bottled inside her.

"It was maddening… but even then, I knew… no, I realized what I was seeing after I came to my senses…" she muttered. "It reflected my heart, and showed my fears, anxieties… my desires." She paused. "I can not allow myself to get you involved anymore, Urashima. I… I am not what I put out in front. Deep inside… I'm a monster. What you saw that night… it might have been my true self."

There was another pause before Keitaro's voice rang clearly once again in the air…

"Are you this dumb, Motoko?"

She blinked, and her eyes went towards his, which was staring at hers with intent.

"Are you too stupid to come up with garbage like that?" he asked. "If so… then you're truly a fool. True self? If that was the truth, I wouldn't be here standing Aoyama.

"Do you want to know your true self?" he asked. "Ask the woman who from mid-swing, was able to stop, and begged me to kill her!"

He dropped his defenses for a moment, but his eyes were still on hers.

"You didn't lose yourself completely… you were able to stop yourself from killing me!" he exclaimed. "I remember clearly Motoko… your face threatened to burst into tears as the blade shook a few inches from my neck. You begged me to stop you… to kill you. Remember?"

She didn't reply, her face going down.

"Do you know why I'm going on this ridiculous journey with you, Motoko?" Keitaro finally asked after a few moments.

"No…" she replied.

"Because I want to beat the face of your sister in," he exclaimed instantly and darkly. "And I prefer to go with you. You've been a great help to me, Motoko. I'll stick with you thick and thin… you saved my life, not once, but twice. You are willing to train a weak man, and even though it was mostly for selfish reasons, you took care of me for the past five days. I respect you a lot… sensei.

"But…" he growled angrily, "if you're going to turn to a coward in the end because of some stupid bump on the road we are traveling, then quit! I can go on without you. I don't need some coward beside me!"

He went back to his fighting position, and was slowly approaching Motoko, who still was in an open form, defenses practically nil. Her eyes were shaking, her mouth trying to reply his vocal onslaught. She could not find a reply.

"This is it, sensei," Keitaro muttered softly, his fists ready. "Thanks for the time you gave me."

Motoko watched helplessly as he approached her, stalking her like a predator. The visions she had, the revelation she had been given… it echoed on her very soul. Why couldn't Urashima understand her? Why she had to do this?

"I… I don't want to lose you!" she finally exclaimed. "I don't…!"

"Aoyama… you already lost me by being like this…"

"What…?"

Keitaro charged in, fast. Motoko, in her daze, couldn't follow his movement, and before she knew it, she was hit again, hard, this time by two elbows.

As she crumpled slowly towards the ground, Keitaro continued what he was saying.

"You lost my respect."

Her knee came down. She was still in a state of shock when he finally concluded himself.

"I don't need you anymore. I'm going to face your sister myself. So stay here and wallow on your misery."

Something inside Motoko snapped. She didn't know what exactly it was, but her hand suddenly grabbed onto Keitaro's shirt, pulling her self up. She felt a rush of anger, worry, and another feeling she couldn't quite well describe more than having a tied stomach. She growled, the sound vibrating deep within her throat.

"I like how your eyes look, sensei," the young man muttered neutrally, though if anyone listened closely, they'd have noticed the slight prideful tone. His eyes seemed to smile as he looked into hers.

She smirked slightly. "You are going to regret challenging me, Urashima," she stated straight.

"What are you going to do? Punish me?" he asked with a smirk of his own.

Her attack came fast and furious, catching Keitaro slightly by surprise. He barely had time to raise his arm to block the open palm coming at him, but at the distance, the power was almost neligable, until Motoko arched her back. With solid footing, and her form, she was able to follow through her attack, and pushed back Keitaro, bypassing his feeble defense completely.

He jumped back, almost losing his balance, but not completely able to recover before Motoko dashed towards him. He raised his foot to dodge a low kick, only to realize too late it was just an attack so she could get close on him. Like earlier, she was using the very same tactics he had used on her earlier. She decreased the distance between them, limiting the amount of attacks he could give, and also limiting the amount of places to defend, but unlike Keitaro's punches, she was using open palm attacks to limit his movement, slowly cornering him to his doom.

Keitaro wasn't useless, though. He attacked and defended at the same time, and in turn, Motoko did the same. But the longer the battle took it was clear who had the upper hand. Keitaro was taking more hits than giving them, most of them were aimed at his sides and abdomen, decreasing his stamina as his air supply was slowly being diminished. Desperately, he launched a haymaker towards Motoko's right side, but like a flash, he was defeated.

He counted three hits… but he was pretty sure she did six. She attacked him before his could hit home by hitting his injured shoulder, and at the same time, punched him at his solar plexus and then an elbow at his stomach, probably an open palm at his chin and a shoulder block, and finally a launching side kick which took him off from the ground.

Motoko caught a slight glimpse of Keitaro's smile directed towards her as he was in the air. She smiled in return.

* * *

"Keitaro…?" 

Keitaro moaned softly, turning his back away from the source of the voice. He was rewarded with another painful sensation over his shoulder.

"AGH! Damnit, Motoko! That's the third time you're touching it!" he exclaimed angrily, turning towards her.

"Sorry…" she apologized. "I was just wondering if you are… fine…"

"Not a question you should ask after kicking me all the way here," Keitaro muttered with mock anger, though his grin gave it away.

"Hmph," she miffed. Her tone turned back to the old Motoko Keitaro knew, though she kept smiling. "Like I would idly stand by as you continue to insult me! You deserved that, Urashima!"

"Yes, yes," he stated. "I apologize sensei."

Motoko helped him to sit up, and he leaned towards one of the trees for support. The pain was now slowly leaving his body, and he could finally fill his lungs with air. Motoko silently slipped beside him, also taking a breather. He stole a look at her, and he couldn't help but smile.

Her expression now was much better than her earlier one. He was glad.

"What?" she asked, spotting him.

"Nothing," he lied. "Nothing's wrong."

"Well, good. Now that I have your attention, what are our plans?" she asked.

"Plans?"

"From what you said… we got four extra days… so we have six more days before we face her…" she said. "So… what are our plans?"

"Why are you even asking?" Keitaro muttered, looking up. "Train me hard. Work on our plans of attack. And beat your sister's face in."

Motoko looked at Keitaro, her eyes becoming unreadable. For a moment, she was once again silent before she asked, "You're really gunning for my sister… aren't you?"

Keitaro blinked. "You know, Motoko… I want to beat your sister… not marry her. So your jealousy's not really cute."

She turned red. "IDIOT! I'm not jealous! I'm just worried, that's all!" she exclaimed angrily. She calmed down, and straightened up, closing her eyes with her index finger pointing up. She was the splitting image of an anime character who's giving advice to a female friend.

"Obsession is unhealthy especially when regarding towards your opponent. It was taught to me that you have to know yourself, know your opponent, and lunge fearlessly. But if you obsess with your enemy, you keep yourself looking forward that you will miss the blade that is presently coming towards you," she said in a lecture tone.

Keitaro laughed. "I don't know if you just said that to hide the fact that you are jealous, or if you actually were giving a sound lecture."

"It was an adequate advice, Urashima," she growled. "There was nothing more to it!"

He chuckled. "Well… you needn't worry, Motoko…"

"Why is…?"

She didn't finish as she felt his lips touch hers gently. It was nothing complicated, nor nothing as bold as the kisses she was giving him when she was under the influence by the dark blade, but a simple, yet quite effective pucker on her lips.

Keitaro could feel her blood rushing from every part of her body to her cheeks, emitting heat. His lips smiled but continued to press slightly on hers. He could imagine her being as red as a tomato, but didn't want to ruin the mood. Finally, after a minute, he backed away from her.

"That's why," he smiled.

He received an open palm towards his face for his trouble… a hard one that almost broke his nose.

"Owch!" he muttered, pinching his nose. "Wat wuz zat for!?"

"If you have time to fool around, Keitaro, then I guess you'll be ready for a more grueling training tomorrow, now, wouldn't you?" Motoko growled as she stood up from her position. "Well… it is late. Let us retire."

And without another word, she turned her back towards still suffering Keitaro, who could only say in a muffled tone, "Hey…! Are you leaving me behind?"

Without facing him, she replied, "You aren't that injured, Keitaro, and you have proved that to me earlier. Now follow me, unless you want to sleep outside!" and she walked on, leaving him behind.

"Oi! OI!" Keitaro called, but it was useless. She never turned back to help him.

"Stupid woman…" he muttered, but in the end, smiled. He was sure that Motoko also had a smile on her face.

After all… he just stole his kisses back from her with just one fell swoop.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

_Next_

_Life is a constant battle… and Tsuruko knows that best. She moves with the sharpness of a blade, without mercy and without hesitation. And this is even before the fray._

_**Tsuruko's Tactics**_

* * *

Author's Notes: 

_I haven't been feeling all that well, so sorry for the delay. I proof-read it, though again, since I'm the one doing it, I may have missed a few things. Anyways… its done! Next is the Battle Arc… :P XD lol. Anyways, until next time! _

* * *


	15. Chapter 15

* * *

**15 – **_Tsuruko's Tactics_

* * *

Keitaro's eyes opened as he clutched his chest when he felt like someone lit a flame inside him. It seems his soul wound (that's what that girl with blue hair said) was acting up, and since Keitaro (of this world)'s soul wasn't located in that place anymore, he hadn't frozen up as he did before.

It didn't hurt, but it wasn't comfortable either. His face had a slight grimace, something Motoko had noticed about three days before D-Day. During training, the first time it occurred, she almost stopped in fear of his health, but he told her he was fine, and to continue on. They did, much to her worry.

There were no more delays in training. And that morning, they rode the train to Kyoto.

The train smoothly ran as the scenery changed every second. In front of him was Motoko, sleeping soundly, and beside him was a wrapped stick, tied on the top by a rope. Although it was designed for concealment, it didn't take a genius to know the stick was actually a weapon, most probably a sword.

Motoko had protested in bringing it, but Keitaro wouldn't hear of it. This was his trump card, after all. Something used as insurance if all else fails.

An announcement came. Kyoto Station was about thirty minutes away. Keitaro had slept a good while already, so there was no need to continue his slumber. He stood up silently, and went towards the bathroom to do his business.

In fifteen minutes time, he'll wake Motoko, if she wasn't up yet… and in thirty minutes… it was time to travel towards Aoyama's home.

* * *

Tsuruko Aoyama looked up as she felt the energy signatures of her sister and her companion miles away. She stood up from her kneeling position, and straightened her hakama. She walked towards her sword stand, and took her nodachi out. She held on to it for a moment, feeling her weapon on her hand.

"So… it comes," she whispered with a slight smile.

How long was it since she and Motoko fought here? When she was decided to carry on the Shinmei Ryuu School, she disappeared the next day. She even missed the wedding, though Tsuruko knew Motoko purposely did that. Her sister and her husband never really gotten along since that incident at the bathes.

A ruffle of feathers announced another presence in the room. Tsuruko's eyes went towards the window sill, and found her partner standing there, shaking slightly as she cawed.

"I know they are coming," Tsuruko replied. She smiled widely this time. "I'm feeling slightly giddy. I haven't been this excited since my last duel with Mikoto… and that was to defend my husband from her forwardness."

While it was tempting to go down memory lane, Tsuruko waved the incoming wave of images away from her as she put her nodachi on her side, slipping it on the modified belt to allow freedom of movements with her hand.

It was time to prepare.

"Time to buy some things for our guests…" she smiled a bit more foxily this time.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Keitaro asked for umpteenth time.

"No, Keitaro, we are not there yet," Motoko replied with umpteenth time… plus one. She stopped, turned to him, and crossed her arms on her chest. "Are you asking me to annoy me, or to just entertain yourself?"

"Both," Keitaro replied with a slight smirk. "It's a long way anyways. Can't we take a cab or something?"

"Consider this training!" Motoko exclaimed loudly, though she quieted down. She looked around for a moment, before she stared back at the young man. "We're almost there, Keitaro… in a kilometer away, you will see the compound."

Keitaro walked towards the young swordswoman. He smiled and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, making her look at him. She smiled back slightly.

"Nervous?" he asked empathetically.

She nodded.

"Don't be," he assured her. "We did what we could. Now is not the time to shy. Now's the time to think… 'we can win' and fight our best." He paused. "Besides… you're with me. I'm not going to just hang back and let you fight it alone."

Motoko looked at him with a joyful expression. She placed her hand on his supporting one, and squeezed it firmly, yet comfortably.

"Not going to break my nose, Motoko?" he asked jokingly. "Or is this a decent contact for a shy woman like you?"

"Do not tempt me, Urashima," she replied with a small dark grin. "I'm holding one of your arms, and you are open for any assault."

"I bet I can still get one hit in…" he exclaimed with a smirk. "My left hand is free…"

"And so is mine," she cut him off. "I can catch your fist even before it could come in contact with me."

"It won't be a punch," Keitaro countered. "It will be an open palm. You may catch it, but you can't stop me from pushing you away…"

"My feet can dig in this ground to give you pause."

"Then I'll bend my right elbow to get closer to you…"

"Useless. You're strength would halve if you approached me from such a distance…"

"And my lips will touch yours."

Motoko raised an eyebrow, while Keitaro seemed to have declared himself the victor by giving her a wide smile. She could only nod.

"You really want me to break your nose, don't you, Keitaro?" she asked, rather amused.

"I could spout poetry… it might make it a little more meaningful," he replied easily. "_You are my sun, my moon… my starlit sky..._"

"Horrible," Motoko stated with rather exaggerated disdain, though her lips threatened to smile. Keitaro himself was all grins, making her waver, threatening to open up her lips… and nearly succeeded too… until…

"I thought it was lovely."

Keitaro and Motoko found themselves reeling back to reality when her voice came to their ears and attention. In perfect sync, the two found themselves looking at the direction of the voice, and tensed as they saw Tsuruko Aoyama smiling at them. Her majestic form swayed gently with the wind as she slowly dragged some of her hair away from her face. On both hands, she was carrying large baskets, and on her waist was her nodachi.

When Keitaro's eyes met the weapon, he straightened up, and unconsciously got his arm ready to attack. Beside him, Motoko also seemed to be quite ready, though their opponent, in either mock or actual naivety, seemed to ignore their reprehensive ness, and approached them with a smile.

"Well, you're quite early," Tsuruko commented. "Duel's tomorrow."

Keitaro just nodded. Beside him, Motoko was slowly relaxing, not feeling anything out of her sister other than her natural harmonic aura, which always was around her when she was anything but in a mood to fight. She glanced at Keitaro who didn't move from his spot, almost like waiting for her older sister to come to him so he could charge.

She weakly kicked him in the legs.

"Ouch!" he muttered softly, and stared at Motoko, who ignored him.

"Sister, I thought it would be prudent to come here early," she stated neutrally. There was no need to instigate Tsuruko now. "After all… we have come prepared."

"Prepared, eh?" the older Aoyama looked towards her younger sister with fair approval. "Well… you do look ready. Much better than you did twelve days ago." She smiled in a rather enigmatic way. "Maybe it's a certain someone's presence that has triggered your growth."

"I actually have you to thank, sister," Motoko replied without losing a bit. She stared at older sibling for a moment. "Due to my loss, it opened my eyes to things I have never thought of before. And with Urashima-san's help… I've recovered and ready to face you again."

Keitaro smiled slightly. Motoko's reply was specifically done to avoid the subject of their relationship. He looked back towards the neutral Tsuruko, who seemed to just smile there, though with a bit more force. He suspected she was interested in the progress they might had.

Like a warrior, the younger Aoyama did not give her opponent an advantage, nor was the older Aoyama showing that she was much more interested in the knowledge than her face gave. The battle may have been dated tomorrow, but it seems the two had already started.

"Urashima-san," Tsuruko suddenly looked towards him. "How was your week? Eventful?"

"Other than injuring my shoulder, not quite," Keitaro lied smoothly. He smiled at her neutrally. "How about you, Aoyama-san?"

"Boring as well, more so than yours, I am willing to wager," she replied, and without any pause, she suddenly walked towards Motoko, and stretched her arms towards her.

Keitaro's partner raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Sister…?"

"Would you mind so kindly in helping your sister carry these?" Tsuruko asked. And before Motoko could reply, she cut her off, "It shouldn't be a problem for you… right, little sister?"

Keitaro looked at Motoko, who looked back at him. He shrugged, not really knowing what was going on, and with a nod she easily took the two heavy looking bags, one on each hand. Tsuruko just smiled, and before any of the two could speak, stuck herself with Keitaro, her arms wrapping around his.

"Now, let's be on our merry way, shall we?" she stated with a rather girly glee, and pulled Keitaro along… but before she could get far, she found resistance when the young man she was pulling to pulled back.

"Excuse me, Aoyama-san…" he muttered with forced politeness. "I would be more comfortable if I wasn't going to be led by you."

Motoko looked a bit at Keitaro who was glaring rather hatefully towards her older sister, who casually just smiled at him. She felt the tension in the air around them as the older Aoyama didn't show signs of listening to him, or even letting go of his arm.

"I must apologize, Urashima-san," Tsuruko stated easily. "But as a host, it would be unkind of me to not entertain you, my guest."

"Motoko-san would be more than adequate enough to help me," Keitaro replied.

"Of course," Tsuruko nodded. "But seeing as she is rather preoccupied at the moment, it would be bad manners and a plight in the Aoyama name if I not shoulder the responsibility."

Keitaro's grin turned rather dangerous. He almost considered breaking free though the way she was gripping on to him painfully knew he would have trouble extracting her offending grabbing limbs, and he didn't want to exacerbate things, especially not now.

"Then I shall allow you to accompany me…" he finally stated, though with a bit of apprehension.

"Lovely," Tsuruko stated. "Now… the Aoyama compound is not too far from here, though the trip may be rather treacherous for outsiders or to those who aren't in rather good physical condition. Hope you don't mind."

Treacherous was rather harsh. While the path was rather arduous, it wasn't much of a challenge for Keitaro, though he assumed it was because they were walking. He can't imagine the state of his feet if he would have to jog here… the ups and downs would drain stamina of those who are just starting out. And everything was bare… there were no trees to cover them from the sun, and the scattered stones of various sizes would make people think twice before running here at full speed.

Before long, he could finally see the compound. It was rather large, but then, Keitaro expected so. In his world, the Aoyama's are a rich family, being one the few Japanese families dealing in supernatural creatures… and from Yuuko's words before, they are also doing the same thing here.

From far away, Keitaro could see four different housings, each connected by roofed corridors. The largest must be the Main House, where the head family stays. Motoko and Tsuruko probably stayed there when they were young as they are the heirs of the dojo… of course, this was all assumption in his part.

As they entered, the whole place had that classical Japanese feel you could typically find in any rich Japanese home. Around the houses was a Zen garden, raked beautifully with a few well placed boulders. And then there was a small koi pond with a small bridge over it, and around, a small water fountain, where a bamboo tube was rhythmically hit the stone as it emptied its contents back to the pond.

As beautiful and serene the surroundings were, there was something vitally missing. Keitaro's thoughts rolled around that notion until after a moment, he finally realized what was bothering him. But before he could satisfy his curiosity, Motoko beat him to it.

"Sister… where is everybody?"

Tsuruko smiled at her. Didn't the woman have any other expression?

"Everybody is on their annual retreat. The students are either home or training with the senseis," she replied. "Mother and Father had to travel to Okinawa for business, and Grandmother went with them. They wouldn't be back for two days or so."

"Quite a coincidence that our duel wouldn't be disturbed, eh?" Keitaro was quick to point that out.

"Well, I may have already taken to account of the retreat, and I might have heard that Mother, Father, and Grandmother going on a trip, but yes, as you claim, it is quite a coincidence," Tsuruko replied.

Sarcasm wasn't needed… though it did give Keitaro another thought on how well thought out Tsuruko was, and why she was rather a bit adamant of extending the time of their duel. Does it mean the family doesn't know about Motoko and Tsuruko's situation? Was the woman unsure on how her actions would be agreed by her parents?

Wait, Keitaro thought. There was someone she hadn't mentioned it.

"How about your husband, Aoyama-san?" he asked.

Keitaro knew he had unconsciously taken a stab at her when her smile faltered slightly. Even Motoko seemed to freeze a bit as Tsuruko's husband's absence was mentioned.

"My husband is away," she replied, while not hostile, with more force than needed. "Training. He'll be back in a week."

"How long has he been gone?" Motoko asked.

"About a month or so," the older Aoyama replied. She seemed to have composed herself, replying easily and so far, truthfully to Motoko's question. But Keitaro wouldn't have that. He wanted to rattle her cage a bit more.

"Must have been lonely, isn't it, Aoyama-san?" he asked with a bit of disdain. "A young woman, who's husband has been gone a month… yes, quite. You must have been really lonely."

The meaning was quite obvious and clear, that even Motoko looked at Keitaro with a bit of shock. Tsuruko herself forced another smile on her face, but her hands squeezed Keitaro's arms a bit harder than usual.

"Well… since you're here, you may fill that hole of loneliness which I have built," she smiled darkly at him. There was a moment of pause, with Motoko looking further shocked, and Tsuruko staring towards Keitaro intently. Then, she said, "Come now, let us get you settled! Have you eaten? I seem to have bought enough for us…"

"For us?" Keitaro looked back towards the two bags Motoko was carrying. "Dinner?" he guessed.

"Rice actually. Just remembered that I ran out of a while ago while I was cooking something special to commemorate and welcome you to the Aoyama house," Tsuruko replied. "Now let's hurry, or else, our dinner will start late."

Like the outside, the main house, where Tsuruko led them, also had that feeling of nostalgia around it. The place was old… very old; probably even older than Hinata-sou, yet maintained with such diligence.

It was quite rich as well. It seemed that no expense was spared as he got a good look around the house. The floors were well kept, cleaned, probably everyday. They shone brightly with the lights, cleanly cut and placed on the floors; the walls were plastered, and painted white with wood pieces to form a frame and the sliding doors were fitted with papers still white and with almost no sign of dirt or dust.

"Motoko, be a dear, and please prepare the rice," Tsuruko declared when they have arrived in the dining area. "I'll show Urashima-san around."

"Sister, wouldn't it be much better if I show Keitaro around?" Motoko asked, a bit confrontational.

"Now, now, don't be a spoil-sport," Tsuruko replied with a smile. "Or is it you do not trust me around Urashima-san? Or maybe it's the total opposite, and do not trust him alone with me?"

"D-don't be silly!" Motoko replied. "It's just…" and she trailed off.

"Well, do keep your hat on," Tsuruko stated after the younger Aoyama wouldn't finish her sentence. Since she was still holding on Keitaro, she dragged him out of the dining room. "I won't try anything with your future husband, little sister. On my honor…"

"Which I doubt is worth much," Keitaro muttered in a low tone, though he received a light tap on his back.

"Ohohoho! You're such a joker, soon-to-be-brother-in-law," she stated jovially. "Now, let's go, and I'll show you to your room…"

Keitaro was on total guard when he was left alone, closely held by Tsuruko, waiting for her evil ugly head to rear up, her snake tongue lashing towards his face… though at a few moments later, he knew he was being a dud.

For some reason, she said nothing, but kept her smile. She offered him a room right next to Motoko's, whose room was right next to Tsuruko's. Guest rooms were actually a house away from the Main House, probably linked by one of those roofed corridors he had seen earlier.

She had given him a rather quick tour. She explained that the Aoyama house started out with one big main house, which after time, extended to support students and extended family. Once he joins, he could invite his family to stay here.

"No thanks," he muttered immediately. He had no plans to lose. He said that.

She just laughed. "I admire your courage… even though it borders irrationality…" she stated calmly. "We had a deal, remember, Urashima-san?"

"The deal was I'd amicably marry your sister 'if' we lose," he stated, "if being the operative word, Aoyama-san. Until the time comes, I do not have to behave in a manner you wish for me to behave. Do you understand me?"

"I like your fire," she replied. And she said no more.

After putting his things to his room, they both went back towards the dining area in complete silence. Tsuruko checked out Motoko in the kitchen, and Keitaro made himself comfortable in the chair, and sat patiently, keeping his thoughts nice and lithe, and looked up when he felt the older Aoyama come in.

She brought in a tray with a pot, some cups, and a wiping cloth.

"Tea?" she asked.

While he wasn't in a mood for tea, Keitaro just nodded and accepted the moderately warmed small cup of tea. He watched Tsuruko carefully pour her own cup, and took in a deep breathe of the steam coming from her tea. She seemed to close up from him, slowly sipping her cup with normalcy. It was like she removed his presence from her mind.

Keitaro drank his own tea with his own volition. His eyes were still towards hers, though he kept his senses wide enough to know that his tea was rather hot, and blew on to it for a moment before taking his first sip. Before long, he was enjoying the taste of the diluted tea leaves, and the warmth and hydrating feeling he got after swallowing the liquid.

He closed his eyes.

"Do you like it?"

Keitaro opened his eyes, his muscles tensing again. He looked at Tsuruko neutrally, who was now swirling her own cup of tea.

"It's adequate," he replied.

"It's not my best tea… but it does serve its purpose…" she smiled, her eyes suddenly shining. "Would you like some more… oh goodness!"

Keitaro pushed himself out of the way as Tsuruko seemingly lost grip of the teapot, and spilled its some of its contents on the table. It was a bit of wasted effort though as the liquid had gotten to his pants, and the older Aoyama looked like some sort of teenage girl as she grabbed a cloth from the tray, and began to wipe the table.

"I am so sorry," she stated as she wiped the table. "Did you get wet?"

"No, its fine…"

"No, no, no," she shook her head, and her hands with the towel went straight towards the wet spot on his pants. Keitaro wanted to slap her hand away, but just tried to pull away from her.

"I said its fine…"

"What is going on here!?"

The picture must have looked strange to Motoko, who appeared just beyond the doors going towards the kitchen. Keitaro could very well imagine what she could see. Her face was slowly going red, looking at Tsuruko's surprised face, and her arms down at Keitaro's lap, still wiping his pants with the cloth… the table hid the critical details, making this scene look very lecherous.

"Tea!" Keitaro muttered immediately before Motoko could explode.

"W-what!?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"Aoyama-san spilled some tea, and she was just trying to be helpful," Keitaro replied. "A wee bit too helpful. I told her already that her help wasn't needed…"

"Oh yes," Tsuruko nodded, taking her hands away from him, finally. "It came so fast, we both weren't prepared for it."

"What came so fast?" Motoko demanded. Keitaro knew there and then that the Aoyama's had dirty minds.

"The accident," Keitaro answered before Tsuruko could. He looked at her for a moment… was she trying to make the whole thing look wrong?

"Which is my fault entirely," Tsuruko admitted. "I must have mishandled the pot, and it spilled on the table, wetting our guest."

Motoko seemed satisfied, though her suspicious eyes still went from her sister to Keitaro. After a moment of silence, she finally said, "The rice is done."

* * *

Keitaro lowered himself on the bathes with a sigh. Motoko's ire was still present during dinner, wedging herself somewhat between him and Tsuruko. While he didn't mind, the tense aura the dinner table had was something he didn't need. He wouldn't admit it, but he liked Tsuruko's cooking and was quite famished, but his stomach kept turning when someone tried to speak. Needless to say, he didn't eat that well.

The bathes were spacious; a big pool of hot steaming water, and four shower stalls made him think this wasn't a personal bathing room. After wanting one, Motoko had, with intention, showed him the way, and left him to his own devices. Not wanting to waste time, Keitaro dove in and refreshed himself.

Tomorrow was the duel, and other than some weird confrontations, it seems peace has been established so far. With that, he slowed his breathing down, and emptied his mind, recalling what he and Motoko had worked on, the gestures they would use to signal each other, and lastly, how to tip the odds on their favor.

He had his gauntlets, which he would be wearing tomorrow. He bought it after the vampire incident in the village they were training on (a small dent on Keitaro's piggy bank), some of his self-made bombs and finally, his Ace of Spades.

Still, Tsuruko's actions were troubling him somewhat. First was the time they met on the road to the compound. She dumped all her goods to Motoko, and went after him immediately whilst ignoring the slight glare she was receiving from the younger Aoyama. The second was spilling the tea, which resulted into one of the most ridiculous situations he was put on. Coincidence? Probably. If not, it might have just been some sibling teasing. Keitaro didn't have enough proof that Tsuruko was acting on maliciousness, though he wouldn't pass that through her.

Keitaro stood up, and wrapped a towel around him. Living in a female dormitory with hot springs made him a bit apprehensive in lingering bathes that weren't personal, unless there was a specification of male and female places, or separated like the wall KU had erected to separate him and the tenants back at his world. Besides… he bathed long enough.

Wrapping a towel loosely at his hips, Keitaro made towards the door, and the first thing he felt was something hitting his shin, just above his ankle. Losing balance, Keitaro flew forward, grabbing the first thing he could to break his fall…

"Oopsie… ohohoho, Keitaro-san," Tsuruko's voice spoke below him. Gradually, he recovered from the shock, and realized that he was on top of the older Aoyama, his hands holding two globes of fat. No matter who else has them, they always felt the same.

Keitaro stood up immediately, causing Tsuruko to moan slightly as he applied pressure on her chest to stand up. "Sorry…" he muttered softly. He felt a heavy spike of ki just beside him, and he inwardly groaned when he saw Motoko at the corner of his eye, glaring at him with a good amount of hatred.

"It's quite alright, Keitaro-san," Tsuruko giggled as she slowly stood up as well, holding the towel against her. It was a bit obvious that the towel was too short for her. She smiled. "But you must have thought that I would be Motoko-han, right? I must warn you, Keitaro-san, no funny business until you get married."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied, and looked towards Motoko who looked at him suspiciously. "It was an accident, Motoko…" he assured.

"Yes, quite. No need to get jealous," Tsuruko chimed in.

"I wasn't!" the younger Motoko replied, and shot straight towards the bathroom door, slamming it shut.

"Oh… poor dear," Tsuruko commented. "Don't worry, Keitaro-san… I'm sure after a nice refreshing bath she'd be a bit more pliable. I'd love to chat more, but my body is in need of a long soak, so excuse me…"

"Go ahead…"

Tsuruko raised an eyebrow as Keitaro's tone turned cold, and watched him for a moment as his back was on her, walking straight and solidly towards his room, and then, losing interest, followed Motoko inside as well.

* * *

"I'm going, sister," Motoko spoke as she stood up, and walked out of the pool, wrapping a towel around her. She hadn't spoken since she had entered, and Tsuruko was the one who kept talking.

"Okay, Motoko-han," Tsuruko stated, still in the pool. She placed her back on the boundary wall, relaxing for a moment. She smiled slightly… well, seems her tactics were working. Motoko's heart was still too immature to see it… though she suspected Keitaro wasn't so gullible. But what could he do? His own partner was so close to not to listen to him… it bodes ill on how their teamwork would work tomorrow.

Tsuruko knew that the best way to attack two people when joining together is to disrupt the trust they had built… and they had more than a week to build that trust together. Her younger sister's face was transparent especially when her anger got the better of her. She laughed. It was rather fun poking around those two… and guaranteeing victory is just an extra.

Tsuruko suddenly tensed as she felt the void in the whole room… it was unnatural. She stood up, spread her feet around the wet tiles underneath the pool, finding her ground. Her head whipped left and right, and before she knew it, she felt a cold ripple in her area… and something sharp on her back.

"Not going to do anything to me, are you?" Keitaro's voice rang coldly near her ear. "On your honor, eh?"

"Technically, Urashima-san… I haven't done anything to harm you," Tsuruko replied easily. "So, my honor is still intact."

"Bullshit," Keitaro said. "You're trying to separate us. I thought it was odd that you came after me when we first met today, then the tea… you had that cloth in the tray specifically for a reason, because you knew you were going to spill that… but it was the last bit that really convinced me. You tripped me as I was about to get out of the bathroom, purposely left yourself open to catch me as I fell… your moan was a cute touch," he added the last part sarcastically.

"Thank you," she replied with a smile. He ignored that.

"I'm not stupid, Aoyama-san. My teacher once told me… once is a happenstance. Twice is a coincidence. Thrice… its enemy action. And your last strike, I am making sure is your last."

"Teacher… interesting," Tsuruko stated softly. "Did that teacher of yours also teach you how to hide your presence and ki to the extent that you were almost invisible until you are at your strike area?" He didn't answer. "You moved like a shinobi, Urashima-san."

"Did I? Or maybe you're just saying that to hide the fact that you're embarrassed that you didn't detect me?"

"Urashima-san… its best you not assume your victory until you hit your finishing blow," and she seemed to smile. "Can you? Can you bring yourself to use that blade there near my kidneys? Are you going to kill me?"

"Quite."

Before he could push the blade into her body, he found himself in the air, and landed on the pool with a splash. He tried to recover and stand, but the slippery surface below and the resistance the water was giving him slowed him down a lot. Instead, he found himself pulled up by the arm, which twisted painfully behind him.

"You were actually going to kill me…" Tsuruko's voice came behind him, though this time it was so cold that it sent shivers on Keitaro's back. "I felt that killing intent, Urashima-san… and you'd even dare use my own weapon against me?"

Another twist forced Keitaro to drop the weapon he stole from Tsuruko's room, and he was shoved away strongly that he fell in the pool face first. He growled. This time, he used both his arms to support him up, and stood up, turned around to recover, only for a claw to grab him by the neck, pinning him on the pool border, and a sharp sensation registered on his neck.

For a moment, Keitaro thought that Tsuruko had stabbed him there, but when he felt no pain, nor the sick feeling of losing blood, he discarded that thought. He wondered briefly what she did, until he couldn't move his arms, legs, or even his mouth. His eyes widened.

"I attacked a nerve cluster around your neck," Tsuruko smiled creepily at him. "The shock should shut down your basic motor functions for a while. I see your eyelids are still operational, and judging by your rise and fall of your chest, your breathing functions are not impaired."

She closed her eyes for a moment, and expanded her ki, which exploded like a bomb imploding underwater, and opened her eyes. She caressed Keitaro's immovable cheeks, staring and enjoying as his eyes moved around, like he was forcing himself to move as she knelt on his lap.

"Forgive me, Keitaro-san, for I am about to use your body against your will," she stated, scooting closer to him, her naked chest touching his chin. "Motoko will have felt that ki explosion… and after a few seconds, she'll be running here… and see us like this."

Keitaro's mind seethed and forced to get feeling back to his limbs… but no matter what he did, he couldn't move. Damn the woman! He tried to move his legs, his arms… anything to get him out of this situation! He was even in more frenzy when he heard approaching footsteps.

MOVE! he screamed to himself. MOVE THE ARM! FINGERS! LEGS! ANYTHING!

Tsuruko giggled. "I must say… this is quite enjoyable, Urashima-san… Do not hate me much for it… its just tactics. Like being late for one's duel, or using the sun's direction to one's advantage… though I must thank you for being the very tool to clinch my plan. First blood… is mine."

The doors opened.

"Sister, what happ…ened…"

Tsuruko's smile was hidden in the fog, but seen clearly by the paralyzed Keitaro. He could imagine Motoko's shocked face, hear the slam of the door, and her heavy retreating footsteps. He wanted to cry out to her, tell her this was all part of Tsuruko's plan to separate them… but he knew it was too late.

Tsuruko detached herself from him, and moved to his side, standing up. She went out of the pool, and the sound of her grabbing the towel was so clear to him. His attention was solely focused on her presence, his anger and desperation mixing unhealthily in his system.

"Not to worry, Urashima-san… I'll appease her a bit. It's not good to have our new couple mistrusting each other to this extent…" Tsuruko's voice was clear in the room. "I'll tell her you forgot something in your bathroom, surprised me, and I tripped and fell on top of you… and she might actually believe it after our duel tomorrow."

Her footsteps approached behind him, and he felt her callused hands caressing his cheeks, her chin resting on top of his head.

"Welcome to the family, Urashima-san."

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_Sorry! My comp went dead, and with that, I had bought a few anime, which I wasted myself on, even after I got my computer fixed. So, to make amends, made the chapter a wee bit longer than usual! Hope you guys enjoyed it! _

_Promise, next chapter will come sooner than this one!_

* * *

**Next: **

**With the battle between the two forces finally arrive, Motoko and Keitaro already are conflicted thanks to the seeds of mistrust planted by Tsuruko Aoyama. Can they even work together, or will Tsuruko's victory be flawless? **

**Next on A View to a Truth: "Mistrust"**

* * *


	16. Chapter 16

* * *

**16 – **_Mistrust_

* * *

"It's almost time…" 

Those were the first words she said when Keitaro saw her again. The other Keitaro, who was supposedly living inside him, was no where to be found. And as more time passed, it hit him that he wasn't really anywhere he could recognize. The clear skies were now dark with crimson, and the white clouds were gray, turning almost black.

"What is almost time?" he asked.

"I have been expecting this since I let you know of my presence…" the young woman replied. "I am diminishing. My death accelerated when the other you had occupied this body. I had to speed up the process of the merge or else, your body wouldn't be able to handle the stress anymore."

"What are you talking about?" Keitaro asked, worried.

"Kei-kun… my dear Kei-kun…" she slowly approached him. "The moment you remember me is the moment of my impending destiny."

Her lips felt warm as it touched his. The deep kiss they shared felt familiar… in a memory faded away to obscurity. Images of himself holding a young woman as he cried freely on her deathly pale skin… her blue hair was messy wet, and her lips, still and not moving, yet almost whispering inaudible words.

"… you…" Keitaro stated. "It… it can't be…"

"Hush… the time for you to remember isn't now," she whispered sadly. "For now… its time to wake up."

* * *

When Keitaro woke up, he remembered almost nothing of his dream, but he felt the familiar warmth in his chest… a warmth he couldn't place well. He tried to feel it with his hands, but when he was able to move his limbs, he then remembered the night before. 

Tsuruko. The woman had definitely done him in last night. After she fetched herself a bath robe, she came back to his still immovable body, and without effort, carried him to his room in a quiet fashion. Then, she stripped him, wiped him dry with a towel, and put him to his futon, and covered him with a blanket.

Keitaro could remember all the details because he was still conscious, still trying to move his limbs, but to no avail. She seemed to have noticed his struggle, and told him in a neutral manner that it was useless.

She took no pot shot at him… though he had expected at least one snide comment to rile him up. But she just tucked him in professionally, and without almost any emotion. He couldn't figure her out. One moment she was probably the number one bitch in the world, and the next moment, she acted like a nurse, wiping him so he probably wouldn't get shivers or even a cold.

But even with that, his anger and his goal didn't change. The woman did more damage to Motoko than him with her crazy antics. Last night was probably the worse. Keitaro knew much about physical pain, but emotional pain was something worse that lingers even after time. He knew as much, remembering the pain he had felt when he thought Mutsumi had died. He couldn't imagine how much pain Motoko must have felt.

Keitaro wasn't stupid. He knew that Motoko would be feeling betrayed, jealous and insecure about herself. She always kept comparing herself to her older sister, and held on to him like he was her life… she could never really bring herself to admit her feelings, but he knew well enough to not even ask.

How would he able to get her to be on her element once more?

He growled quietly as he looked towards his bag for his weapons and battle clothes. He dressed up in comfortable sleeveless shirt, and baggy pants. He wore his rubber shoes with it. The grey color was plain and didn't stand out, which was good.

He grabbed a few tightly wrapped plastic balls, each with a different color. There was white and red. When he put a couple at his pockets of his pants, he grabbed hold of the long covered stick, and placed it at his back.

There was a temporary pause, wondering if he should have bought a gun… but the availability of such weapon was very low in this country. In his home world, the U-faction, along with the A and M factions, not to mention the mages were under the support on a very hush-hush department of the Ministry of Japan. Without that support, the only place Keitaro had to go for guns is by the black market mostly run by Yakuza.

Guns would be expensive, and he would barely be able afford a decent handgun with Keitaro's bank money, and that was just the gun; the bullets were at separate price. With the skill of the former heir of the Aoyama Clan, he wondered how a simple handgun would be effective. He couldn't even stab her at the back, even at point blank range!

The woman could also expand her ki in ways to detect presence, and to announce hers. She could feel killing intent, and was quite a martial artist, able to pin him down in seconds without her weapon. A solution would be a long range rifle to be able to kill her from afar… but if he could barely afford a single handgun, how would he be able to get a rifle without doing anything illegal?

That, and the unknown factor as Tsuruko's full skills in question would diminish the use of projectile weapons such as guns. If there is anything his teacher taught him is that the most effective way to kill someone is up close and personal. The most complicated weapon to use is a knife, and the best weapon to have is your head.

Besides, he hated the Yakuza, and if there is a death waiting for Tsuruko, he wanted to see her eyes when it happens.

His door opened, revealing Motoko. Her eyes were red and puffy, looking at him tiredly. He looked back at her.

"Motoko…"

"Sister is calling us…" she muttered. "To the grounds. Our fight is there. See you there Urashima."

And she closed the door before Keitaro could even speak. He cursed silently. Before he could even think about Tsuruko, he should have focused on gaining back Motoko.

He wore his arm guards. He hoped he could get some time alone with Motoko during the fight… or else, they would just be handing themselves to Tsuruko.

Keitaro went out towards the grounds, and spotted both Motoko and Tsuruko waiting for him. Both wore the same colored hakama, though unlike before, both tied the shoulder locks to fold the sleeve as so not to get in the way.

"Well, here comes our last character," Tsuruko declared, smiling. "I hope you had a," she paused, "_pleasant_ rest, Urashima-kun."

Motoko visibly went red. Keitaro's eyes narrowed further.

"Now, as you both know, our duel starts now," the older Aoyama continued, ignoring both. "It's a one day duel. Anything goes, so come at me as you will. Though I prefer if all of us survive, who really knows what can happen in battle, right?"

Keitaro smirked slightly. Well, at least they had an advantage… he was sure Tsuruko would in no way try to kill them… she needed both him and Motoko alive to be married but the same won't go for Keitaro. He wouldn't need her alive… though he could bet that Motoko would stop him if he ever would get that far. If ever.

"Winner by KO, submission… on all participating sides," Tsuruko declared.

Another advantage. For Tsuruko to win, she'd need to knock or make both of them submit… but it won't be the same for her. If Tsuruko was knocked out, it's over…

"Duel's location is here, on the Aoyama grounds," Tsuruko smiled sweetly. "Prepare yourself for calling it home, Urashima-kun."

Keitaro felt an itch in his finger, going for his arm guards. He wondered how she'd look like if they won.

"You have twenty-four hours to defeat me…" she paused. "I suggest you use as much time as you can. WE BEGIN!"

Keitaro readied to his form, and looked towards Motoko. He signaled her to take on one of their forms, when she was nowhere to be found. Keitaro's eyes widened suddenly when he heard her shout…

He took a glance. There she was, charging foolishly towards Tsuruko, who now had her small smile. With a clanging sound, sparks flew as Motoko's sword (he just noticed, and wondered where she got it) hit Tsuruko's sheathed sword. With another strike, the younger Aoyama took a slight step back as the older one blocked it again, the scabbard going against the sharp blade. Tsuruko's foot came out, and hit Motoko squarely in the gut, making her jump back.

That small fight lasted less than two seconds. The speed of the two was unbelievable… Keitaro could barely make out what was going on, but even before Motoko got up, he knew she was losing it. The younger Aoyama charged in again, her defense practically nil, and Tsuruko seemed to just smile, and blocked her attacks effortlessly.

"Hmmm… enraged, powerful… but unbalanced and quite reckless," Tsuruko commented. Suddenly, her eyes shone. "Is this the level you put yourself into!?"

He saw it. Keitaro saw it. Her transference energy as she switched form, her left foot going back, her right foot sliding slightly forward as her arms realigned themselves, parrying Motoko's sword slightly, and she counter attacked. The sheathed sword would have hit Motoko on the head cleanly, probably knocking her out if it wasn't for Keitaro, who raised his arms, and blocked the strike.

"MOTKO! NOW!" Keitaro shouted as he waited for his partner to strike the open Aoyama when he suddenly felt a strong hit right to his cheek. Keitaro, confused, flew away from his position, landing on his back a few meters away.

It wasn't Tsuruko. The woman still held her sheathed nodachi with both her hands, looking towards his direction with a rather pleasantly surprised face. What hit him in the cheek was a flat palm, probably a backhanded slap, which could only come from one person.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Keitaro shouted as he wiped his sore cheek, standing up. "MOTOKO!"

The younger Aoyama didn't look at him, her arm still extended from her slap. Slowly, she placed her arm back to the hilt of her sword.

"Get out of the way, Urashima," she muttered. "You're interfering."

Keitaro approached her. "Interfering?" he asked, his steps getting heavier as he approached. "We're a team, Aoyama!"

"I don't need you," Motoko stated. "You'll just get in my way."

"With your recklessness, even a damn idiot would defeat you!" he exclaimed. "I know your pissed, but this isn't exactly the time, Motoko!" and Keitaro was then suddenly facing the end of a blade. Motoko pointed her weapon towards him, and their eyes locked for a second.

"I will say this again," she muttered in a cool voice. "Get out of my way."

"Take that weapon away from my face, Aoyama, unless you want me to stab you with it," he replied with equal coldness. The two glared to each other, seemingly ready to face off when Tsuruko's voice suddenly cut through the air like a knife.

"I do not wish to interfere, really," she stated. "But until it's over, I suggest you don't take your eyes off me!"

Keitaro and Motoko noticed Tsuruko dashing towards them on the offense. Both jumped away from each other, evading Tsuruko's charge. The former prepared for an attack, because he knew the best tactics for taking out an opposing team is to first take out the weakest member of the party, and as much as it stung him, he was the weakest link of their team… but she never came.

Keitaro took a quick look at his surroundings, and noticed that Tsuruko was back again with Motoko. He seethed slightly, thinking that she's probably ignoring him because he wasn't much of a threat to her. He put his hand in his pocket, took out a white ball and followed the two sisters.

* * *

Motoko blocked an overhead swing, and tried to parry it with a slight twist, only for Tsuruko to sidestep, and take another swing towards her sister. 

"Motoko-han… I'm disappointed," she stated with a slight smile. "You're movements are sloppier than last time. Your swing is so barren it pains me to see you like this…"

Tsuruko twisted her sword, automatically deflecting a stab aimed at her face, pivoted, and with some force, pushed Motoko forward, using her own momentum against hers.

"But… I guess I should not blame you," the older Aoyama continued. "You have after all, fallen for a man who does not return your feelings."

"I…" Motoko paused when she blocked a strike. "… do not know what you are… TALKING ABOUT!" and she parried Tsuruko's last strike, and countered. Tsuruko didn't seem to take notice of the attack much, and with amazing agility, blocked, shifted, and attacked Motoko with a solid strike on her back in a second.

The younger Aoyama grumbled as she found herself kissing the ground. She turned, raised her sword, and defended her fallen form, expecting a continuous attack… but Tsuruko just seem to stand there, in a neutral stance. Her eyes seemed to ask her when she was going to stand up.

Quickly finding her footing to regain solid ground, Motoko's lips twitched slightly as Tsuruko just smiled. She charged in again with a stab. It was blocked again.

"Oh, come now, Motoko-chan…" Tsuruko stated calmly. "You really don't think I can't see that you are probably out of your mind right now?" She blocked another strike. "Your head isn't on the battlefield. You are playing _shogi _against yourself and no matter where you move you are always blocked. It's the Urashima boy… he is your goal."

"Do not talk things that you do not know!" and she took another swing. It was blocked again.

"You should know, my little sister… how he really feels about this," Tsuruko stated as she continued to block more strikes. "I mean, aren't you both fighting against me so you would not marry to each other?"

Motoko paused suddenly as the implication set it, and she wondered momentarily what her sister had said. It was true, wasn't it? Keitaro trained with her for only one reason… to beat her sister and to cancel their forced arrangement. Her heart suddenly ached as her stomach seemed to contract terribly at her thoughts that she left herself open.

"You lose," Tsuruko whispered almost inaudibly as Motoko's static and lowered hands was clear to her. Her sheathed sword flew as fast as the wind towards Motoko's forehead. The younger Aoyama cursed, and realized too late that she couldn't block nor dodge the attack.

Suddenly, Tsuruko's eyes suddenly moved, something taking her focus. She quickly stopped her attack by forwarding her momentum right towards what Motoko could only describe as white stones. The older Aoyama hit the projectiles in their dead centers with one stroke only for it to break and spread out. White powder seemed to explode out of the impact, covering both of them in thick smog.

Rough hands grabbed Motoko, and dragged her away, while Tsuruko simply smiled inside her white surroundings. After a few minutes, she took a swing down, splitting the air around her, dispersing the smog.

"Simple yet effective weapon," she stated to herself. She looked up, and spotted her bird flying to her. "I hope Keitaro-san wakes dear Motoko-han up… so we can really take this more seriously." The bird landed on her extended arm. "Are you getting excited about this too? Fly, my friend… and guide me to their destination."

The bird cawed before flying up in the air.

* * *

Keitaro checked behind the small hut he was hiding with for Tsuruko's presence. Besides him was Motoko who just sat there, unmoving. In the white mist of expanding smog, he was able to go in and take Motoko out before she could do anything stupid. 

"I think we're clear," he whispered to her. Motoko just sat there in silence. "Motoko, are you hurt?"

"Why would you care?" Motoko demanded. "You can stop the act, Urashima. We both know the truth."

Keitaro looked around again. "And what truth is that?" he asked, his eyes searching for Tsuruko.

"You don't care about me. You are just here, using me to have your revenge and so you would not have me hanging around you as your wife," she replied.

Keitaro paused for a moment, and stole a look. Motoko's head was down, and by the way she shivered, was seemingly trying to hide her tears. Her mumbling was downcast and didn't even have much strength. He sighed.

"I do care," he replied.

"LIES!"

"Oi!" Keitaro placed his index finger around his lips. "Shhh! Shh!"

He took another look around to see if Tsuruko had heard her scream the last bit before kneeling in front of Motoko.

"Yeah, you're right," he muttered towards her. "This is revenge. She is treating me like a pawn. She is using me to 'fix' you, not overly concerned about my opinion and feelings about this whole…" he paused to search for the right word, "fiasco. Yes, fiasco. And yes, you're also right about not wanting you as a wife…"

"See!" she cut him off, looking up. Her eyes were wet, yet angry as it stared back at Keitaro's. "You don't care, do you! You're just using me for your own selfish sake! You…"

She was cut off when Keitaro suddenly slapped her. For the second time, the pain reeled in shock as the memory of under the rain came back to her. Déjà vu. Like in the streets, Keitaro uncharacteristically (in her eyes) acted by having the gall to slap her and cutting her off. And then, she witnessed Keitaro's anger, sadness and pity in his eyes, as his arm suddenly pinned her by the neck.

"Urashima!" Motoko shouted as she tried in vain to push herself back, but she suddenly felt his lips on his. Her curses were muffled as her partner was forcing his way on her, and she suddenly felt going weak. When his lips parted from hers, she found her tongue again.

"What are you..."

And once again, she was cut off when Keitaro's lips touched hers again, but this time, she was able to move more a bit, hitting the man in the back weakly, repeatedly, but in the end, succumbed to the enjoying and lingering feeling of his kiss.

"Are you listening to yourself?" he asked between breathes and he separated from her. "You are right now a disgraced heir, demoted to only as a baby maker for the next generation Are you fine with not holding a sword, learning the ways of the sword, or have you forgotten what is truly at stake here?"

He looked at her seriously.

"Let me remind you then if you have forgotten! We're here to bring you back as the heir of your family School!" he exclaimed. He paused for a moment, his lips frowning. "I never lied to you, Motoko. I do care for you. I like you, alright? You're probably the best company I had for the past few weeks. I like you a lot… I do." He sighed slightly. "But I won't marry you because we're forced to. If there is any reason to marry, it's because we both decide to. Isn't that how it's supposed to be?"

His sincerity, his eyes, and his lips may have caught her eyes, but his feelings synced with hers. Yes, she agreed with everything he said. It was a fairy-tale that most women, even she, would imagine. Even with her disdain for men who stole her older sister's heart, there were times where she would wish and imagine a prince in a white horse, or with an immaculate sword, taking her hand, where they would fall in love, and live happily ever after.

Still...

"If you think I'll forgive you for kissing my sister that easily because you kissed me like that..." she muttered with her last spurt of defiance, but she couldn't even finish before Keitaro spoke.

"It was a trap," Keitaro muttered. "Your sister forced herself on me."

Motoko just raised her eyebrows with incredulity.

"Look, you're a warrior, Motoko," Keitaro stated. "If you knew you were going to face two opponents simultaneously, what's the first thing you do?"

"Eliminate their..."she paused, and her eyes widened, "Teamwork. Take away the trust they have, and you can easily pick out one after the other."

"Exactly," he nodded. "Your sister did a good number on us."

"I... I don't know, Keitaro..." Motoko looked towards him slightly.

"Do you still doubt me after that kiss?" he asked with a slight smile.

"It's because you can kiss like that which makes me doubt you," Motoko narrowed her eyes, though her lips were cracking its own smile. She suddenly frowned. "You changed Keitaro..."

Keitaro seemed to ignore her last statement, and looked around again. "I can't see your sister. I think she's waiting for us to appear, and hiding her presence somewhere." He looked at her. "Motoko... are you okay now? Can we finally do what we came to do... partner?"

Motoko nodded.

"Good..." Keitaro muttered. He looked towards her weapon, and recognition came to his eyes. It was the same sword that Motoko in his world had given him, and broke when he tried to use it against a vampire. He felt a slight irritation at the memory.

"What are you doing with that practice sword? Why didn't it break during your battle with Tsuruko?"

The young Aoyama looked at her sword with confusion. After a moment, she caught up with his question, and nodded. "This is a sword that practices ki temperance. I place an exact amount of ki in it, and if I maintain it, I can use this sword as I would normally. You place too much Ki, it becomes brittle and easy to break. Put too little, and it won't be hard enough to withstand attacks and bends. I got so used to it I was able to use this practice sword like a regular one."

"Useful training tool..." Keitaro muttered and then without delay, he explained his plan.

Motoko listened intently though at the back of her mind though, no matter how much Keitaro seemed to change, she could see his own personality deep inside him, and she found herself thinking that even though he had changed a lot, she didn't mind it one bit.

She liked him a lot better this way.

* * *

Keitaro looked around nervously. He unconsciously checked his forearms to see if his guards were still present. The wrapped weapon at his back only moved when he did, and while he not dare use it for now, it could be used as an extra protection cover. 

He tried to extend his senses, but for some reason, the whole area began to close around him. He remembered the feeling slightly... it was like the time the vampires invaded his Hinata-sou, so he tried to shake any cobwebs around him. He could finally extend his senses slightly father than before.

He was sure now. Tsuruko was around. He looked around again, trying to feel his surroundings. It wasn't until something fast from his right caught his eye, and the wind shifting slightly around his ears and skin warned him of an incoming attack. He ducked, dodging Tsuruko's sheathed sword, and he countered with a few punches of his own.

Tsuruko moved left and right, dodging his measly attacks, but his eyes were on her legs. They didn't move. He smirked. Seemed that this was the limit. Her form in attack mode didn't let her step back nor at her sides, only forward. This was the best she can actually do; to dodge when she's on the offensive.

A few more punches, Keitaro gauged her limit. When he could finally see her pattern, he tried to push her even further. Tsuruko began to move a bit sluggishly as she tried to get away from him, and when she recovered she attacked again, but he was ready. He dodged her slashes, and at the same time, attacked her open angles to see once again her limit.

"Hmmm... Urashima-san... you're much better than my sister gives you credit you in her letters," Tsuruko stated, finally taking a step back. Her form was still on the offensive.

"Thanks," he muttered back.

"But if you continue to battle like this, you will lose," she suddenly said. "This isn't how your style is."

"Save the talk until after battle!" Keitaro charged forward, and attacked again, only to pass her completely. She had dodged by turning to her side, pivoting her foot so she'd appear directly behind him, and attacked towards Keitaro's back.

The sound of metal and metal colliding sounded rather sweet to Keitaro's ears as he could see Motoko's graceful back, blocking her sister's strike.

"Motoko-han... how surprising. Defending your husband this time?" Tsuruko declared with a smile. "Have you resolved your dispute?"

There was no reply as Keitaro attacked this time, and Tsuruko retreated, jumping back, and this time, changing her form once again. By her feet position, and the way she held her sheathed sword, she was now in the defensive. Keitaro looked towards Motoko, and nodded, and the younger Aoyama charged towards her older sister.

Again, metal met metal, but unlike the early encounter, Motoko's attacks were swift and true. No matter how well Tsuruko seemed to parry her attacks away, Motoko recovered fast, never overextended her attack, and kept herself calm.

Tsuruko just smiled as she continued to defend.

"This is much better, my sister," she stated. "But is this what you want?" Tsuruko blocked Motoko's continuous attacks. "If you defeat me... you'll lose him."

Motoko's silence was her reply, and without pause, continued to attack calmly and evenly. Tsuruko smiled more naturally, and continued to block her attacks until she heard a slightly high pitched cry that she recognized, and her eyes moved as it spotted a shadow going towards her side, to her back. She jumped away, dodging Keitaro's surprise attack behind her.

The young man cursed silently. He had thought he had her. Motoko distracted her well enough, and he was able to sneak in without making his presence known, but somehow, she was able to dodge his attack. But no matter... this was the beginning. He finally got her weakness.

Her offensive form can only dodge but not block, and her defensive form could only block, but not dodge, hence why she could only jump away when he got her from a dead angle.

"Motoko... continue! Don't let her recover!" he shouted, and he ducked away again as Motoko charged in after her sister. Again, Tsuruko parried the attacks, but Keitaro sneaked away again, looking for the right time to strike. He went for her right this time, and again, she barely dodged his attack by jumping away, but like earlier, she showed an opening. Motoko spotted it, and without apprehension, attacked it.

Tsusurko was still able to cover and block it, but the attack left her severely unbalanced, and Keitaro charged this time, attacking a new opening; her legs. Aiming low, he hit her hard and got her to fall, which she broke. Tsuruko flipped backwards, but before she could even recover fully, she met face to face with Motoko's ki attack.

"**Hyakka Ryōran!**" Motoko declared, and using her ki, she enveloped the air around her, and directed it towards Tsuruko. Flower petals appeared out of nowhere, and flew from the air to a straight line, and sliced its way towards the enemy. The older Aoyama's eyes narrowed, and unleashing her own ki, she released it upon the attack, and everything exploded outwards.

Keitaro was momentarily off balanced as the shockwave hit him, but when everything settled, he hurriedly moved towards Motoko's unmoving form. She looked at the wall of smoke where her older sister had stood earlier.

"Did you get her?" he asked, coughing slightly.

"I do not know, Keitaro..." Motoko replied, her hand slightly shaking.

"What's wrong?" he asked, taking notice, and before he knew it, he could feel himself shivering. A cold sweep of air seemed to penetrate his back, making him shake unconsciously.

The smoke finally cleared, and Tsuruko stood there, relatively unharmed. Her sword was now unsheathed, and her breathing was calm once again. Her smile was gone, replaced by unreadable lips, and her eyes were closed slightly. As she took a deep breathe, they opened, staring at the both of her attackers.

"Very good!" she commented, and then smiled. "Very good. You found out about my weakness, my two forms. As a martial artist and warrior, I commend you and you both earned my respect. But..." Her legs moved, and her arms moved again, going to her attacking formation. "... it will take more than that to defeat me."

"Keitaro..." Motoko called , her voice shivering slightly.

"Don't worry," Keitaro muttered. "She is just scaring us. She's using her offensive form again. I'll try to attack, you cover me, and then we switch..."

Tsuruko suddenly changed her stance. Her shining sword moved in the air in a circular motion, and went back to its position. She took deep breathes, and then, went back again to her offensive form.

"Come at me..." she stated, her smile gone.

Keitaro nodded, and charged, with Motoko following him behind. His first thought was to get the first attack through... force her to dodge first so they both would find their opening... but suddenly, she blocked his attack by tapping his offending extended arm with the side of her blade, changing its direction, and she moved in suddenly, turning her sword downwards, and let her sword hilt come up and hit Keitaro squarely in the jaw.

Keitaro flew, dazed. His vision was doubled, and a few moments later, he felt something or someone landing on top of him. He cursed, and shook his head, trying to shake away his dizziness, and when he finally came to, he could see Motoko right beside him, holding her head with her free hand.

What the hell happened? Tsuruko seemed to have used her sword to deflect his attack, and at the same time, attack. And she didn't even pause to throw Motoko back at him (he assumed it was Motoko who landed on top of him). He stood up steadily, and looked towards Tsuruko who just looked at him, waiting for him.

"What was that..." he muttered softly. He thought he said it in a way that no one would hear them, but he was surprised when someone replied.

"**Seikūken**..." Tsuruko smiled. She moved her sword slightly again, forming a circle around her. "Urashima-san, in martial arts, ones adaptability is the key to one's success. You may have found my rather glaring weakness, but it doesn't mean I got by with just that."

Her sword slashed downwards, pointing towards him.

"I shall now show you now how I carry the Aoyama name," she stated. "I shall show you my skill as the former heir of this family!"

And with that, she charged towards him.

**To Be Continued**

* * *

Next:

_Tsuruko is more than she seemed as she comes back at them with full force forcing the two challengers to retreat. How can they take back their momentum? Next, __**Heir of the Black Sword. **_

* * *

AN: I am so sorry. I really am. I shouldn't be making anymore promises, really... this time, I blame StarCraft. Yes, I found myself playing the missions of both the original and Brood War again and again. I improved my playing as a Zerg and Protoss player... 

But thanks to this time-off, I was able to formulate my next K2 story. This time, it will definitely feature the return of MT of the O-faction... she'll even have a few of her own leading chapters.

Ja ne!

* * *


	17. Chapter 17

* * *

**17 – **_Heir of the Black Blade_

* * *

Keitaro breathed erratically as he found himself on the ground again. Tsuruko Aoyama was beating him down faster than before… and Motoko still has not woken up from the earlier toss. He cursed silently. The woman was playing with him. She could have finished the fight already after she had charged in, blocked, parried and counter-attacked almost all of his futile attacks, but she seemed to be taking a rather cat-like mood, keeping this… this game going until she may get bored with it.

Keitaro hated his own weakness. Even if he had his own body back, he didn't know how he could win. He was fairly confident in the early going until she started to show that her skills never got stagnant. The mysterious **Seikūken**of hers… he had no information about it. He didn't know how it worked, what's its weakness and how to counter it.

She is tipping the scale. The odds are for her once again. Tsuruko Aoyama was winning, and she knew it.

"I am impressed that you still have the strength to stand up," she stated easily as Keitaro struggled to get up. "You know… you do not need to suffer this. Just admit defeat, and we can stop this one-sided battle."

"Heh…" Keitaro chuckled darkly as he tried to bring his arms up again. "You make yourself sound decent. You could end it yourself… what are you waiting for?"

Tsuruko smiled as she raised her blade, and once again, whirled it around her frame… and before he knew it, she was charging in again. Keitaro raised his arm, his gauntlet blocking and deflecting the incoming blade, and he countered by brining all his energy forward with his fist… but with a flash, her blade changed its angle, and she ducked his attack, and with a few steps forward, she cornered and trapped Keitaro's pivotal foot with her own, and pushed forward. Keitaro yelped as he found himself in the air again, but was able to break his fall.

Tsuruko never let him recover as the hilt of her blade suddenly flicked Keitaro squarely in the forehead. Moreover, before he could even register it, her free hand hit his gut hard that he just got on his knees, and gasped for air.

"You held yourself well," Tsuruko stated as she took a few steps back, "too well in fact. You mention that I am keeping this battle alive… well, there are two reasons."

When she finally was a few paces away from him, she turned around, her sword pointing downwards. Her stance was neutral, yet ready for anything.

"First… it's been a while since I have battled anyone on this level. Being married, while a joyful experience, is quite boring compared to my old life," she continued. "There is an old rule… a traditional rule in the Aoyama house which made it rather dangerous for us. I won't bore you with the details, but point being, marriage was a great change of pace which is why I am rather enjoying our fight. It reminds me much of the old days."

Keitaro groaned as he stood up again. He looked tiredly towards the talking samurai still trying to think of a way to beat her.

"Second is… you," her eyes narrowed. "There is a large discrepancy in your skills. I do not believe that my sister is too dense not to realize your standing. Last night was probably the first time I finally gave you your dues. You were able to sneak up on me in a very stealthy manner, and touched my skin with my own blade. Today, your fighting style is reminiscent of multiple disciplines compressed to enhance your ninja-like form. Close Quarters Combat, weapon usage, arm guards, stealthy movements and even your keen insight in spotting weaknesses of my form… these beg the question of your actual worth now than before."

"What do you mean?" Keitaro asked.

"I thought you were just a means of getting my sister to change," she replied easily. "Now, I wonder if having you in the family would open doors to the future generations of Aoyamas. This will help me decide that."

"Playing with me isn't going to help you get me," he smirked darkly. "Be careful, Aoyama-san… if you aren't, you may just fall on your back."

"Do not worry, Keitaro-san… I am always careful," she smiled, before she suddenly ducked down as another glint of metal tried to swipe her from behind.

Keitaro charged in to join the newly awakened Motoko. The two attacked the older Aoyama, who danced around them, dodging each of Keitaro's punches, parrying each of Motoko's strikes. But like earlier, their hits never registered, and before they knew it, and they were facing the onslaught of Tsuruko's own offensive.

"Keitaro…" Motoko blocked a strike.

"Yeah, yeah, retreat!" Keitaro muttered, and his hands dove for his pockets, taking out one of those plastic wrapped balls. But before he could even use it, Tsuruko's eyes spotted it, and her attacks suddenly focused towards him. Keitaro could see her blade suddenly aim towards his arm, but Motoko wouldn't have it. Using her own body, she was able to push away Tsuruko's offending arm away, and she knew what happened, the whole area was covered in white smog.

Tsuruko once again focused her ki on her blade, and with her downward swing, the air spread the offensive smoke screen away. She found herself alone once again, and slightly chuckled at the fact that it was the second time her prey was able to sneak away using that technique.

She closed her eyes, and her ears perked up, listening to the low shrill of her partner's voice around the air. This time, she wasn't going to let the two recover as easily as before.

* * *

"Very nice, Keitaro," Motoko stated. "What are those?"

"Flour wrapped in plastic," Keitaro replied, taking a few breathers. They ran slightly farther away from Tsuruko than their earlier escape. "We're in a bad position…"

"Quite…**Seikūken**..." Motoko looked down slightly at her sword.

"Know anything?" Keitaro asked.

"Well… it's a term used on our unarmed combat. There is this branch of style using circular motions to redirect your opponent's energy against them," she explained.

"Almost all combat disciplines have that," he cut her off gently.

"Yes, as a means to use undirected offense, like Aikido," Motoko nodded. "But this is different. **Seikūken**uses the philosophy of a circle around a user's body, using his or her arms' radius to create an impenetrable shield that can be used to direct offensive measures by predicting your opponent's movement. For example, you can block a punch just a moment before it hits you, and slide your own arm forward. So in essence, you can redirect the enemy's fist in another direction, your own fist will stay and hit through its mark." She paused. "But **Seikūken** is only used in unarmed combat because it uses your own limbs as a measurement of length and limitation, creating a symmetrical spherical shield around you. But if you add a sword…"

"She's using that one sword as a replacement of her two arms," Keitaro suddenly stated. "Remember, before she charged at us, or before we'd engage her, she kept circling her nodachi in the air around her… it's almost like she's constantly measuring her 'shield'."

"My sister… she's too good," Motoko sighed. "She's using an unarmed technique with her weapon. She hasn't dwindled in the fighting arts even after she had gotten married. This is impossible…"

Keitaro flicked at her forehead gently. "This isn't the time to be going negative, Motoko," he looked around for a moment. "This is the time to see how we can tip this to our favor." He looked at her. "What are the fundamentals of **Seikūken**?"

"Well…**Seikūken**has to be done with a calm mind," Motoko replied. "You can not move around erratically and bring it up. But how are we going to…" and Keitaro cut her once again.

"Well… I think I got something. Are you willing to listen?" he smiled. Motoko looked at him curiously, and nodded.

-----------------------------------------------

Tsuruko looked around. From what Shippu had been telling, this is the general area where they were. So far, she couldn't feel anything out of the ordinary, but she trusted her partner. And soon enough, she could feel the rise and fall of energies surrounding her. The older Aoyama pinpointed Motoko sneaking in the area, while Keitaro seemed to be going to a position in the rooftops.

_What are they planning? _she wondered silently. She had to be more careful around them now… Motoko's style was beginning to change the longer the battle was commencing, seemingly evolving to go hand in hand with Keitaro. Before, Tsuruko never imagined her little sister doing a sneak attack on her back, but…

Suddenly, Motoko's energy spiked up. Forming another circle with her nodachi, Tsuruko put up her **Seikūken** barrier while waiting for her sister's offensive, but then, she noticed Keitaro suddenly revealing himself. He was wearing a goggles and a facemask. Then, a little while later, she noticed her sister donning the same facial protection, and Tsuruko wondered why, when everything suddenly exploded in a red painful screen.

_Crushed spices… _she cursed. The powder hurt her eyes, and overpowered her sense of smell, giving an itchy sensation down her throat. She was forced to suddenly rely on her hearing as she closed her eyes. Motoko's footsteps were barely audible as it is, but she was still able to block off her initial attacks.

Suddenly, around her she could hear random noises that began to distract her as she felt Keitaro's presence looming near her. Instead of a direct approach, he would randomly try to distract her by seemingly trying to attack her, but is actually nothing more than a cover for Motoko or at times, he'd join the attack and Tsuruko almost believed it was another distraction before given the last minute warning by Shippu who was watching everything from a safe distance.

Keitaro silently celebrated as his plan worked. It was all about misdirection and creating an environment that worked against the older Aoyama. The crushed spices created a thick screen of suffocating and blinding smoke, and sooner or later, Tsuruko would have to give in.

He wondered silently though, what she was going to do next. He wasn't stupid. He knew that eventually, she would find a way out of this predicament. Add to the fact that this was probably his last decent movement against her, he could not afford to lose it now.

Tsuruko's stance began to falter. Keitaro could finally feel his attacks kicking in. If he wasn't mistaken, Motoko was also getting a few hits in as the older Aoyama's hakama was getting slightly cut. He pushed his attack more. He needed to end it now!

Everything was coming down fast and hard this time. The two never gave Tsuruko time enough to try to clear the red mist, and kept attacking her from all sides. It was enough to keep her from using **Seikūken**effectively, and she was almost overwhelmed. Almost.

Like a shifting wind, everything turned for the worse. A sudden burst of ki emanated from Tsuruko, and Keitaro could only feel a sudden force, like a wall, pushing him away. Flying off like a swatted fly, he spotted Motoko also going away in another direction… and the red smoke vanished, scattering in the sky following the four winds.

Keitaro cursed. What was this woman? She was like a damn monster! Just when he thought they were paving their way to victory, she suddenly pulls something out of nowhere, and brings them back to square one! What did he have to do!?

Keitaro removed his mask and goggles, and watched with a sinking heart as Tsuruko seemed to move once again, going after Motoko. Blade met blade again, but this time, the younger Aoyama was being overwhelmed. She hadn't had enough time to remove those goggles and mask, and former was limiting her vision.

He charged in. He needed to help his partner, but even before he could move in for an attack, Tsuruko turned and gave him one of the hardest hits he ever felt. It was very strong… stronger than anything she had ever given him to the point he almost fell unconscious.

Had she held back this much? Keitaro, with spaghetti legs, forced his way to a standing position, and watched as Tsuruko Aoyama seemingly transform in his eyes. Her speed increased, and her form flowed smoothly, adding more power to her already impressive attacks. Even Motoko seemed to notice this sudden change as she was slowly overwhelmed by left and right attacks as her older sister was charging towards her defenses.

He charged in again, even though deep inside he knew it was useless. He had no more ideas, and Motoko was showing signs of fatigue as she was, most of the time, taking the brunt of Tsuruko's attacks and at times attacking with her ki-based techniques. Barely dodging the attack coming at him, Keitaro placed himself in front of Motoko. He wanted at least give her time to retreat and rest, but the older Aoyama just pushed him away.

He fell on the ground, feeling his own sense of defeat bubbling forth. Was this the best he could have done with more than a week of preparation? Was this the showing he could do? His enemy showed to be always one-step ahead of him. She blocked and nullified his tactics, almost sabotaged Motoko and his teamwork and even until the end, she showed no more signs of weaknesses he could exploit.

Keitaro gazed at Motoko as he stood up. Her eyes behind the goggles were going to him… worried, asking. Her worrying was affecting her form, and her combat prowess suffered. He could almost read her mind… she wanted to come to his aid, but she couldn't. But like him, even if she knew how useless it would be, she would come to him.

Keitaro's left hand felt the cloth that wrapped the weapon on his back. So, it had finally come to this, he chuckled tiredly. He didn't want to… this was something he could never take account of. The memories of the berserk Motoko holding the black blade with her hand was one of scariest thing's he had ever seen in his eventful life… and now, he was about to take a dive into the same abyss the young Aoyama warrior had.

Anticipation, fear, curiosity, and a morbid sense of humor swirled inside Keitaro's stomach as his right hand held the black hilt. The worst thing that would happen is nothing would happen. And at the same time, the worst thing that could also happen would something would happen. Damned if he did. Damned if he didn't. And as he slowly unsheathed the blade, he prayed to the gods that Motoko would stop him if he needed to be stopped. And before the final moments, he felt the world implode around him as the darkness swept.

He closed his eyes and waited for the result of his gamble.

* * *

There was a gentle light emanating from the far reaches of his surroundings. Even through his closed eyes, he could see everything clearly. It wasn't until a few moments later did Keitaro realized that his eyes weren't closed… and when he tried to, nothing changed.

He wondered where he was suddenly. The surroundings were blue… like the blue calm sea. The color reminded him very much of that woman he kept seeing this past few weeks, and it relaxed him. Was he in paradise? He wasn't sure… but it could have been. His soreness was gone, and so was his fatigue, like someone recharged him with energy.

"So… you're my new master," a voice called from behind. Keitaro turned, and gasped as he saw the woman again… but this time, her piercing blue eyes could be clearly seen wherein before were obscured by her bangs or unnatural shadows.

"Hey…" he greeted her, but she suddenly raised her hand to stop him. Keitaro then noticed that her posture, her aura was different from what he remembered. His hands clenched automatically… she wasn't the girl from his dreams.

"Whatever you perceive of me to be, I am not that person," she admitted readily.

"Who are you then?" Keitaro asked.

"The most basic answer to your question is simple; I am the weapon you now wield," she stated.

Keitaro blinked slightly. "Are you the cursed sword?"

"Cursed for those not chosen, those who aren't worthy to wield my power," she replied. "But for those, like you, who have met the criteria, your will is my command."

Keitaro didn't know what to think next. He had been bombarded with the most oddest things one after another. The girl of her dreams… transported to another world different from his own… his apparent engagement with Motoko and now, a sword that actually talks.

"I can see you're confused," she suddenly exclaimed. "And from what I can see, it's understandable."

"What can you see?"

"Your past, your present, your thoughts," she replied.

"You can read my mind?" Keitaro asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Yes… it is part of our contract with each other," was her reply. "As my wielder, my thoughts are yours, and yours are mine. It is the most efficient way to use me in combat."

Combat… suddenly the word snapped Keitaro of his emerging stupor. He suddenly looked away from the woman to look for Motoko and Tsuruko, who were still battling.

"Your woman and her sister aren't here," the girl with blue hair called again, surprising Keitaro as she appeared right in front of him. "We are inside your… your head so to speak."

His woman? It seemed this girl/sword/spirit/whatever is laying it really thick. He chuckled silently at how Motoko would react if she knew some weapon was saying that she was his woman. But jokes aside, Keitaro looked towards the girl, and wondered if it was coincidental that she looked like the woman in his dreams.

"It is not strange," she spoke once again. "My form is burrowed from your reiki. It is the representation of your spiritual energies."

Keitaro's lips twitched slightly. He had to get used to this. The woman once again answered the question in his head… but still… the representation of his spiritual energies? Does that mean his soul looks like the woman of his dreams? It was an odd and a bit uncomfortable notion. It begged to question more and more about her identity, and for the first time, it was starting to bother him.

But… no, there were more pressing matters. He could get all the answers he needed later. Right now, Motoko was in need of aid, and…

"It seems you have decided on a course of action."

There she was again, right in front of him. But this time, it didn't phase him.

"I need your help," he stated with a cold edge in his voice.

* * *

Motoko coughed hard behind the suffocating covering of her face as she had taken a very hard hit in her gut. It was her fault… she was distracted, thought for a good reason. Where was Keitaro? She had coughed out a bit, and tried to take in air. Her sister's dangerous form was ignored as her eyes passed that and went towards the position she last saw Keitaro… he was gone.

"Your concentration is falling rapidly, Motoko-han," Tsuruko commented. "Can you afford to?"

Motoko looked towards her sister and grunted as she forced herself up. Taking a few deep breathes, her eyes once again scanned the surroundings for the missing Keitaro. Where was he? What happened?

She could ask herself many questions, but the warrior in her was trained to put those thoughts behind. Besides, she was not a worrywart by nature. She was sure Keitaro was there, somewhere. She trusted him… heh… if she could listen to herself now. When did she begin to trust a perverted male?

Her mind kept saying his name. Her mind kept imagining his face as he mentally apologized. This was the best she could do. She was still no match for her sister after all… and once she falls, he would soon as well. There was a part of her mind which wanted her to scramble away from this place. Maybe she could still talk to her sister? Cut a deal, apologize profusely, and hopefully... maybe...

She shook her head. She felt herself laugh at those thoughts. What would Keitaro say if he saw her even trying those options? She would never hear the end of it. As she stood up and gazed solidly back towards her sister, defiant, her tired arms still holding the sword, her ki now finally wavering after an intense hour of usage to keep her practice sword in working order.

Motoko blocked another shot, but this time, her sword and her energy gave way. A small cut appeared on her weapon as her sister's nodachi finally showed which weapon was superior, and the force of the blow got her to fall once again on her knees. She could only look up rather helplessly as Tsuruko reversed her weapon, and held it up.

So this was it, she thought. The flat part of the blade would hit her solidly in the head, and knock her out, most probably. Then, Keitaro would be next. Closing her eyes, Motoko waited for the inevitable to come...

Suddenly, a cold wave engulfed her surroundings. A power suddenly seemed to appear just right in front of her, and opening her eyes, she gasped silently as she saw Keitaro's straight back looking at her fallen form.

Blue waves of energy seemed to be seeping out of him, settling around the area. Ki? No, it felt different. Reiki? Did Keitaro hold this much spiritual powers in him?

"Motoko... are you alright?" she heard him ask.

Motoko could only smile behind the fabric.

* * *

Keitaro never took her eyes off the surprised Tsuruko. His black blade held off her nodachi firmly in its place, as they both seem to froze in time. His question was never answered, but he knew Motoko was smiling at him... the sword said so.

She was right there beside him... the girl with the blue hair. She had told him that only he could see and hear him, and would help him win the battle. She explained how his latent reiki is slowly pouring out of him, and she was adjusting it to boost his body and muscles.

Keitaro didn't care much of the explanation. All he knew he was feeling like he had his old body back... and when he twirled his weapon to parry Tsuruko's away, he knew it was more. He was faster and more powerful than he remembered. Blocking a few attacks, he went towards the offensive, gaining ground against Tsuruko, who finally jumped away.

"Impossible..." she stated, shocked. "That blade... you can wield it!?"

Keitaro didn't reply, but went to a form his old teacher had taught him. His dominant arm just below the hilt guard of his weapon, which was held firmly and solidly, and his left arm was settled at the side lining of his left leg. He kept his frame narrow and thin, reminiscent of western style fencing and Chinese style sabre stance. Less surface area to be targeted on, footing for fast movements... those were the principles of his form.

Her nodachi spun again around her, so Keitaro knew she had erected her**Seikūken**again. Tsuruko's eyes still held shock and disbelief, looking at his weapon more than him. He smirked slightly...

"If you want to take a closer look at it, I'd be happy to oblige," he stated.

Tsuruko's smile appeared on her face. "Your confidence grows to the point you can now joke during battle, now eh?" she said.

"And being married doesn't make you stop looking at another man's sword, right?" he jabbed back.

"Of course not," she replied good-naturedly. "Especially when it shows off its exotic qualities."

"I feel sorry for your husband, Aoyama-san."

"And I don't know whether to feel sorry for Motoko, or jealous," Tsuruko's smile was widening the longer the conversation was going. "Are you trying to make me mad, Keitaro-san, shake me so my**Seikūken**would falter?"

"I tried..." Keitaro replied honestly.

"You did well," she commented, "but Keitaro-san, maybe its time to show that you are more than bark. Or maybe just holding a weapon made you overconfident in your abilities?"

"I drove you back, didn't I?"

Keitaro smiled as Tsuruko's eyes widened. Her smile was fading slightly as her posture was slowly turning straight.

"Yes," she replied after a moment. "Yes you did. I seem to be getting more surprises every time it involves you."

And suddenly, without a warning, her form disappeared and re-appeared right in front of Keitaro, who by instinct, blocked the low stab thanks to the sword giving him a quick warning. Lightning quick attacks, Keitaro thought she was rushing at him, but her feet were solid on the ground, her arms swinging at him in blinding speeds. Left, right, on his shoulders, Keitaro could feel more and more pressure mounting as Tsuruko's attacks got faster and stronger.

He tried to sweep her, but she just raised a leg and still continued on the attack like it was nothing. For a few minutes, he was slowly feeling overwhelmed and he had to step back, slowly retreat, but she kept her attack forward, gaining her ground.

_You are exhausting your energy, _he suddenly heard a voice beside him. It was the girl-sword again. _It is quite odd... you have potentially a lot more energy than this. More than enough to change me to your secondary weapon form... I wonder what's wrong..._

Secondary weapon form? He wanted to ask more about it but he was driven back once again as Tsuruko drove her weapon forward, and without pause, dashed forward once more and continued on with her attack. He had to finally use his other hand to support the weapon. But no matter what, she just kept coming at him... and one moment, Tsuruko had almost disarmed him completely if it wasn't for Motoko, who suddenly appeared between them, now her goggles and face mask removed.

"I thought we were a team?" she asked as she blocked two strikes from her sister.

"Yeah, sorry," Keitaro stated as he came forward as well and blocked the counterattack that Tsuruko had responded. And everything suddenly turned.

Keitaro, with his body powered up and with a helpful voice beside him... Motoko with her skills and experience as a samurai, and given a breather; the two were now fighting back against the older Aoyama with ferociousness unseen earlier. Now they were forcing **her**to retreat. Tsuruko's eyes narrowed as she tried to keep her ground.

Keitaro attacked on all sides he could see open as Motoko was once again in her position... frontlines. She kept her older sister busy, and with Keitaro now showing a vast improvement, Tsuruko's **Seikūken**could do little with overwhelming attacks from two people attacking like a well oiled machine.

But it didn't mean she didn't try. There were times she almost turned the tables against the two, but thanks to Keitaro's sword giving him forewarnings, he blocked every move, feint and attacks the older Aoyama tried, and shared the knowledge with his partner. Motoko was finding that listening to Keitaro as he led her attacks had pinpoint accuracy and scary insight.

It wasn't long before Tsuruko was getting hit. Forcing her to change from offense, she went back to her defensive form and now she could only block attacks coming at her, while her feet and legs slowly retreated. Keitaro would never give her a breather. He could see her sweating as he closed in to her defenses once again, and forced her weapon up, and Motoko, seeing the opening, attacked with one solid kick to her sister's gut.

There was something sweet in the image that Keitaro's eyes were seeing as Tsuruko slid back at the force of Motoko's thrust kick. He dared relax for a moment... this was maybe it. The battle finally turned to their favor, and the results are showing now. If they could keep up this phase, it would be over...

_Eyes in front._

Keitaro looked forward, and noticed Tsuruko chuckling slightly. Beside him was Motoko, who kept herself solidly in place. Keitaro went back to his form, his hands gripping his new weapon tightly, watching the older Aoyama carefully in case she commences her attack. But she only just stayed where she was, chuckling, which turned to soft laughter.

"I think we just made your sister mad..." he commented on the side. Motoko either didn't hear him or didn't bother to reply. "Let's finish this..." he said seriously.

He didn't need to see her nod to know she was with him. He felt like they connected in some way... maybe it was the week of training that gave them this bond. It could also be that close shave he had to death... but whatever it was, it paved way to this. No amount of thinking can change the present, and right now, he wanted to finish this. Now.

"Wow... this is... very unexpected," Tsuruko spoke finally after getting the laugh seemingly out of her system. "But thanks to that chain of event, I know your true worth now." Her eyes suddenly seemed to focus on Keitaro. "I'm afraid there is no way I can let you win."

She stood up, and her left hand dove towards her hakama. When she took it out, she held the short sword that Keitaro tried to use to Tsuruko last night. Letting the sheathe fall with the pull of gravity, she twirled it around her hand.

"Her... her secondary weapon!" Motoko muttered, slightly terrified. "I think she's going to use her natural form...!"

"You... you are kidding right?" Keitaro asked. Motoko had explained to him before that Tsuruko's natural stance uses a two-weapon back in the day where she wasn't married. From the style limitation she had been using (the separated defensive and offensive forms) before the**Seikūken**, he could only conclude that their battle just got even harder.

He felt like complaining. This was not fair anymore... It was hard enough that she always kept being one step ahead of them. And then there are those bursts of ki...

Wait a minute, he paused. His mind suddenly fretted as this train of thought finally entered his head... was there really any way he and Motoko would win? He just realized it... the damned woman had been holding back since the beginning! And during the course of battle, she slowly raised the level as they raised theirs! Her ki levels are so steady, almost nil at times, but when needed, she was able to call forth explosive power to tip everything back to scale!

Her skill of the sword was superior, no doubt about it. But she used almost no ki-based attacks. Motoko pulled off a few only to be dodged, and she since she was supplementing her weaker sword with ki, he didn't know how much she could call out to attack. But... Tsuruko... she had been using her own weapon, and could have used any ki-attacks freely!

As if agreeing with his thoughts, Tsuruko suddenly expanded her ki forward, and slashing to the air, Keitaro and Motoko were both forced to dodge as the air suddenly sharpened around them. Hit on her shoulder, Motoko yelped as she scrambled in the air, trying to recover from her injury.

Tsuruko dashed forward, right back at Keitaro. Deciding it would be better to attack first, he came in right in front, thrusting his blade towards her, only for the older Aoyama to use her short blade to deflect it, and without breaking flow, her nodachi followed the motions, and Keitaro bent backwards, barely dodging the attack.

_She's going to hit you below._

He shifted his feet as true to the warning Tsuruko's legs tried to sweep him off, and in his position, the only thing he could do was flip backwards. He extended his feet, hoping to catch her off guard with a back flip kick, but with impossible speed and strength, grabbed his offending leg, and threw him over her shoulder.

"Keitaro!" Motoko shouted as she dove in and caught him before he could land precariously on the ground. Keitaro could feel her chest as she held him close to her body. The feeling never lingered as she helped him up, and let go. He didn't miss it.

"Thanks," he muttered under his breath, and looked towards Tsuruko, who was coming after them once again. He looked to his side, where the girl sword was floating close to him. She looked at him, and he mentally asked if there was anything else that he could do. She just shook her head.

_I suggest a tactical retreat, though we'll be hard pressed to get away. _

He wanted to run as well to buy time to think what else to do... but Tsuruko wasn't going to allow that. Slashing once again around her, her ki attack launched towards their position. Dodging, Keitaro stole a look towards Motoko, who dashed forward once again. He estimated where she was going, and dashed forward as well, hoping he would join her in attacking the older Aoyama both at once...

Suddenly, his chest burned like an inferno was lit inside him. He screamed as the pain became unbearable. Going to a knee, he held his chest hard, trying to block away the pain. He thought for a moment that he was going to die...

But suddenly, the pain faded as soon as it came. Keitaro shook his head slightly, looked up from his position. Motoko was retreating away from Tsuruko, who looked at him curiously. He shook his head. He wanted to signal Motoko that he was fine and not to worry and continue on when he heard the sword girl speak again.

_Above!_

Above? He looked up, and for a moment, he wondered what he was searching for when he saw a small feminine figure floating in the sky. He narrowed his eyes, tried to focus and see any way that could make him recognize such a strange figure. But to his horror, his curiosity turned to panic when the figure suddenly raised her hand, and called forth a very large ball of energy, which suddenly shot itself down towards him.

Everything turned to white and blue as the whole area exploded in a crackle of electrical energy. Up in the sky, the figure started laughing madly. Her blonde hair ran unkempt, running down slightly longer down her shoulders. Her eyes contained bags, giving the impression that she hadn't slept for a while. Her clothes were dirty and crumpled in many places... but she didn't care.

Miyabi finally found him... and she finally got to kill him.

**To Be Continued... **

* * *

_Once enemies, now allies in the face of a greater danger. The madness of a fallen goddess knows no bounds. Everything changes as the stakes are changed, and nothing will ever stay the same. Next on __A View to a Truth:__**The World Ends**_

* * *

**Author's Notes**

As we approach the end of A View to a Truth (about two to three more chapters, I think), I am now looking for the next title for the K2 series. Unlike AVT though, the next story is now focused more on the narrative of Keitaro's (and Mutsumi's) perspective than action.

Sorry again for the delay... Starcraft again. :P I just realized how bad I actually am compared to some of the people at but I guess to be fair, I'm a decent player as a Zerg and Protoss... Terran's too much work to use effectively.

Anyways, ja ne!

* * *


	18. Chapter 18

* * *

**18 – **_The World Ends_

* * *

Demon Eyes Laharl woke up with an odd feeling. He hated odd feelings. For him, it meant either a range of things… he was about to receive some news he'd rather not hear about, or some idiot out there did something, like summoning a great Demon Lord accidentally near his staying area, or it actually meant nothing at all, just bad milk, and he worried needlessly about nothing.

It had been a week already. Shinobu, bless her heart, had been Keitaro's alibi as the tenants began to question his absence. She claimed that he had called just yesterday, and that he wanted to tell everyone that he was fine. Of course, after the third time of claims, Kitsune had demanded the young homemaker to give her the phone if he ever called again. She was getting impatient.

Naru and Motoko had a devil may care attitude about the whole ordeal, though they were beginning to suspect foul play. They were already asking many questions towards Shinobu, getting details, and thankfully, the young girl was smart not to bury herself in lies she wouldn't remember during pressure.

He had been sleeping rather peacefully in KU's lab when he awoke. The anti-magic field around the area had considerably sated his mana-induced lust, and he was the first to get updates from Heaven, relayed by Su. The only time he had to leave was to teach class, but thankfully, all of the students around the place were seemingly giddy to start their Festival that they didn't care much if he was just reading out the lesson by the book instead of the regular Teacher-Student discussion teaching style he usually did.

He lounged around KU's lab after washing his face. Class wasn't until after lunch, anyway, so he had time to kill. As long as he didn't bother the Molmolian, who was busy tinkering away on a new watch she had said she would give to K2 once he returned, he could stay as long as he wanted.

"Hey KU…" he greeted.

"Hey Laharl. Mornin!" she greeted cheerfully.

Laharl nodded, and sat down and watched the scientist/inventor (mad one) quietly for a moment before she spoke again.

"Not gonna eat breakfast? I hear Shinomoo is making something delish!"

"Not feeling up to it…" he replied. "Any news?"

"Nothing so far," KU said.

"Damnit… does it really take this long?" Laharl complained. "Heaven's standards are falling, I swear."

"They are doing fine. They already investigated about 435,000 universes," KU smiled, looking towards Laharl. "And they are closing in."

"Yeah… that damn goddess kept traveling from one world to another, taking mana to keep her travels going," he growled. "You know, it's ironic that we need her to find K2… though honestly, the way how worlds work, it's nothing new." Laharl finally found himself in a talkative mood, despite his earlier negative feelings. "For example, me and Tsuru-"

Lights suddenly flashed, and Laharl looked at KU, who nodded. Rushing to the main computer room, KU clicked a few keys in her dual-keyboards, while Laharl fixed himself behind her. The screen flickered, and revealed the Seraph.

"Laharl… we pinpointed her location," he stated with a hint of smile in his face.

"Great!" Laharl nodded, and rushed out of the room, only to pause and look back towards KU. "Uh… hey, can you send a message for me?"

"To the Mahora Academy's Principal?" KU asked with a smile. "I'll tell him you'll be taking a sudden leave, family emergency."

"You're the greatest KU," Laharl winked before he vanished from Su's view. He ran down the lab, and took one of the few secret passageways to exit the Hinata-sou. He didn't want to meet tenants now, and he was in a rush. He needed to get to Heaven at once.

* * *

Keitaro watched in horror as the big ball of energy came at him in full speed. Before he knew it, he was engulfed around the bright blue-white colors of electricity. He thought he had died, and he might have if it wasn't for the person in front of him.

Tsuruko Aoyama's two hands held the blade as she called forth an enormous amount of energy from her body and directed it towards her blade. She growled as she brought down her nodachi, and like an enormous hammer, brought down the ball of energy to the ground with explosive force. Keitaro fell down, as the shockwave was so strong it threw dust and rocks around, covering the area.

"Keitaro!" Motoko called as she held him slightly.

Keitaro finally blinked and came through. In the dusted surroundings, he could make out Motoko who was beside him, and Tsuruko, who bent down to grab her short sword. She must have dropped it to use her two hands to support her primary weapon, the nodachi.

"Are you alright, Keitaro-san?" the older Aoyama asked. "It seems our duel will have to wait. A rude guest appeared, and dropped in unannounced."

Keitaro coughed slightly. He could feel Motoko's warm hands in his arm.

"I'm fine… thanks," he replied with slight hesitation. Thanking Tsuruko was the last thing he wanted to do towards the woman, but she did save his life again. He looked towards Motoko and back to the other Aoyama. "What was that?" he asked.

"Burst Lightning Bolt Spell, level two," Tsuruko answered immediately. "By compressing electrical energies into a ball, it's launched to an enemy with explosive splash effects."

"Correct."

Keitaro immediately stiffened as the voice came from right in front of him. Motoko immediately raised her worn weapon defensively. Keitaro shook his head once more, and looked for the weapon he had dropped when he was taken off his feet.

_Catch me. _

Keitaro's right hand automatically grabbed as the shadow flew towards him. It was his sword and when he was re-united with it, he took notice that the girl once again re-appeared (he was still too out of it to realize she wasn't present earlier), and went to a defensive position.

Tsuruko herself held her arm at them, holding them at bay, and shielding them slightly from any more attacks.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"I am an avenger," the voice replied, coming closer. The dust was slowly settling, and the silhouette of was emerging, slowly showing their attacker's features. "I am justice."

Keitaro could have sworn he could recognize the voice. It wasn't until the dust finally settled did his eyes widened in recognition. The blonde hair was slightly longer, dirtier and looked like it lost a battle against a comb, but her glazed-looking eyes directed at Keitaro were unmistakable.

"Mr. K2… I see you…" she laughed slightly.

"Miyabi…" he muttered under his breathe. He hadn't dreamed that she would be after him, but he should have taken it to consideration. If Laharl or Heaven was definitely trying to find him, he should have at least assumed that she would as well, though since he last saw Laharl before he was transported to this world, he assumed that it was most likely that the demon hybrid had captured her, and never even really bothered after that.

He was wrong in that aspect because there she was, staring daggers at him.

Motoko looked at Keitaro when he whispered her name. The young man looked back at her, and saw questions piling up in her eyes.

"Keitaro… how do you know this…" she did not seem to dare on finishing her question.

Keitaro slightly looked away … he felt slightly guilty of not telling her about himself truthfully, but what could he have done? Tell her he was from a different world? After he tried to convince everyone he was the same Keitaro they knew, only changed due to painful circumstances?

Tsuruko didn't mind the two young ones behind her as her eyes were looking straight at the goddess'. She knew what she was by nature, but what she didn't know is why she was here. This was the Aoyama grounds, and to the agreement the family had with Heaven, their grounds were open to their kind, but, nevertheless, they would never take too kindly of a surprise attack.

"I demand to know your purpose here," she stated with a cold tone. "And to explain yourself on opening fire on us!"

"I was firing at him!" Miyabi's finger pointed towards Keitaro. Her nails were unevenly cut like she was biting them, and smudged with dirt. "And you had to stop me, didn't you!? I thought for a moment I finally was able to blow his guts wide open! Did you know HOW MUCH MANA I HAD SPENT WITH THAT ATTACK!?"

Tsuruko took a step back slowly. "He is under the jurisdiction of the Aoyama's. You have fired on our grounds, and almost hurt any of us with such an explosive attack," her eyes narrowed. "So if I were you, I wouldn't be worrying how much energy you just spent."

Miyabi just laughed. Her head began to shake, moving slightly left and right as she spoke every word in a mocking tone, "You… don't… care… how… much… mana… I… spent…" and she cackled. "Do you know who you are talking to, measly human!? Just stand back, and let me fry him!"

Tsuruko looked stole a look back towards Motoko, and her lips moved, whispering, 'Get out of here now!' The young Aoyama nodded and took hold of Keitaro. It didn't escape the mad goddess' eye as her lips twitched slightly.

"Oh… you're not going to let me get my revenge?" she asked in a cutesy tone, which suddenly changed as her face contorted to an ugly frown. "THEN DIE WITH HIM!"

An explosion of mana came forth from her hands, quickly forming a large ball of lightning. No chants, no build-up… just instantaneous amounts of mana formed in a split second. Tsuruko suspected that the goddess she was dealing with was some warrior, trained for fighting. Her spells right now, while powerful, were nothing compared to the higher tier gods and goddesses, who with a single spell, can destroy any district in a long distance. What they can't make do with heavy artillery spells however, warrior goddess do make up with speed and combat prowess. They can call forth weaker spells quickly to disable or kill their targets.

Tsuruko bent her knees, and looked straight ahead. In a split second that the goddess would call her attack, she could dodge the moment the spell would be sent at her, and attack the goddess who would be left wide open… but she couldn't. Right behind her, Motoko had finally took off running, but by dragging Keitaro, she may not be able to dodge the reckless attack.

She raised her two weapons, and placed them in a defensive position in front of her. Her breathing calmed and she closed her eyes as the ball of lightning launched from the goddess hands. Calling forth her ki from within, Tsuruko Aoyama yelled slightly as she felt the energy collide with her swords. Encompassed with her ki, she twirled her weapons around for a moment, delaying the motion of the lightning ball as she slowly built up more and more of her energy. From her legs, to her arms, and to her sword, she finally pivoted her foot, turned, and using her two weapons heavy with ki, hit the lightning ball back to the offender.

Miyabi's eyes widened as she saw her own attack suddenly come back at her. She didn't have time to react, and closed her arms around her defensively as the air was suddenly filled with electricity, and exploded in her face.

Tsuruko watched with a slight smile on her face. She hadn't come out of that unaffected. Her hakama was burned, cut and she was bleeding slightly in her forearms. Her ki had diminished, and it was going to take a while before she could regain all of it, but it was worth it. Behind her, Motoko and Keitaro had effectively disappeared. Knowing that the future of the Aoyamas had escaped harm invigorated her to stand up, and got to a defensive position. She knew it wasn't over.

As the smoke cleared, the goddess looked even more ragged than earlier. Her hair and her skin, like the older Aoyama, was burnt, and she was looking rather mortified.

"You…" she began to mutter with hate. "You are with him, aren't you? You… you, you you!" she cackled slightly. "You were with him when he shot her, weren't you!? You cheered as he put my partner down! YOU WERE THERE!"

"I do not listen to the ramblings of an obviously mad celestial," Tsuruko muttered with a cold edge in her voice. Her smile suddenly turned wicked as she gripped her two weapons with more strength. "But the fact that you tried to kill me and those under my care is something I cannot choose to ignore."

"I WILL NOT FORGIVE YOU!" Miyabi screamed as her sword suddenly appeared in her hand. Without a moment's pause, she dashed towards the older Aoyama, who still had that grin in her face. Her two weapons were ready and waiting as the two forces clashed at each other with an explosive force.

* * *

Motoko and Keitaro both sat down on the ground. Far away, they could hear the sounds of intense battles. Keitaro looked at Motoko slightly, who was seemingly conflicted by something. Her hands were still grabbing his arm rather painfully.

"Motoko… shouldn't we get moving?" he asked silently.

"She knew you…" she whispered hoarsely. Her eyes went to his accusingly. "What's going on here Keitaro? Why is she after you?"

"I don't know," Keitaro lied, clenching his free hand slightly. "I never met her in my life."

"She called you something… K2?" Motoko shook his head. "You knew her name!"

"Look," Keitaro thought fast. "I don't know why that goddess is after me…"

"How did you know she was a goddess?"

Keitaro cursed silently as he found himself in a mess. Yes, how did he know? He could get away with a name, saying the goddess had looked like someone, but knowing the celestial's nature just clinches the fact that he does indeed know Miyabi.

"Do not get silent with me Urashima!" Motoko growled angrily as she grabbed Keitaro's collar. "My sister is fighting with her life out there! She just expanded her energy like crazy! Why do you know her!? Why does she know you!? Damn it, Keitaro, just tell me what's going on!!"

Keitaro looked away, and gritted his teeth. He could feel his stomach turning as he tried to think a way out of this. He couldn't. The only thing that can explain everything now was the truth… and the truth was he was not the Keitaro she knew. He was some supernatural agent of another world that had been transported here through very unexpected circumstances. How would he explain that?

_She's sensible and knowledgeable with the supernatural going-ons. There is no legitimate reason why she wouldn't believe you. Your story is not as farfetched as you would think. And even if she won't believe you, it supports everything that had happened since you had arrived to this world._

Keitaro stole a look towards the sword-girl. While she was right, it was not the reason why he would not admit the truth to Motoko. If anything, he didn't want to lose her like this. What would she say if she knew the Keitaro she fell in love with is not completely him? He didn't know if he could take it, so he did what he thought what was best at that time.

"It is none of your business Aoyama," he whispered hoarsely.

Motoko looked like she was slapped. Her eyes blazed with anger as she tightened her grip. Her mouth opened and closed, and she was seemingly trying to find the words.

"Non… none of business?" she demanded. "Weren't we partners!?"

"Just because we are doesn't mean I have to tell you my life's story!" Keitaro replied.

For a moment, the young Aoyama looked like she was going to hit him, she really did. She dropped her practice sword for a moment, and raised her fists. Keitaro just looked rather impassively at her. For him, it didn't matter anymore if she did hit him or not, though at that point, he hoped she would.

She didn't. A moment later, she seemed to have calmed down and released Keitaro's collar. She shook slightly, but nodded her head. She looked at Keitaro for a moment, her lips threatening to shake uncontrollably.

"You're right. You don't have to tell me your life's story…" she stood up. "You don't need to say anything to me at all. It's obvious that you don't trust me at all."

"Its not that I don't trust you Motoko…" Keitaro tried to console her. "It's just… complicated."

"Complicated?" Motoko glared at him. "There is nothing complicated about this! You just don't want to tell me!"

"Yes, I do not want to tell you!" Keitaro shouted at her.

"Why not? What are you afraid of?" she asked.

Keitaro growled, but didn't answer.

"Why?" Motoko insisted. "What is bothering you so much that you can't share it with me? Why are you-"

She didn't end her question. The sound of battle was interrupted with a sudden explosion, and a scream of pain. The Aoyama's eyes widened as she looked at the direction of the pained shriek. Keitaro looked rather bothered as well.

The one who screamed was not Miyabi, but Tsuruko.

* * *

Tsuruko's back was towards the wall as her legs were almost giving way. She looked up and watched with agony as the goddess seemed to come after her. More bolts of lightning came forth from the air and charged at her mercilessly. She could do nothing but defend, raising her only weapon left, the nodachi. Her short sword had been lost somewhere with the last attack.

The goddess was, if she guessed correctly, in a berserk mode. She had been expending very large amounts of mana almost recklessly just to try to hit her. Quick successions, her offense came in too fast and too powerful, more than the rate of Tsuruko's ki recovery. She found it slightly ironic that she was facing a larger and almost impossible force that she could handle at that specific moment when earlier, she was being that very same force facing against her younger sister and the enigmatic Urashima kid.

Swiping away and another lightning attack away, she tried to call forth more ki, but her muscles were already fatigued in expending that much. It had been a while since she had been forced to use that much ki, and her conditioning wasn't as good as it was when she was young.

"Too much peace…" Tsuruko whispered almost inaudibly. Yes… her married life was very peaceful and other than a few conflicts, she needn't a reason to train as much as she did when she was young. If she did… she may have lasted much longer than this. As her arms felt like lead, she wondered if she should start planning her escape, though she nixed that plan, as she couldn't even walk.

There was another roar as the air once again ripped away as the goddess called forth more lightning spells from the air around her. Like spears made of electricity, they launched at her from all sides. Tsuruko raised her arm as she tried to block them again, but with her sluggish response, she couldn't deflect all of them. She missed some of them and they passed her defenses, and she hoped they wouldn't hit anything vital.

Three bolts had hit her thigh, shoulder, and knee. The last one had finally gotten through her pain threshold, and she had left herself completely open for a split second… that was more than enough time for the goddess to launch a single bolt directed to her heart.

For Tsuruko, time seemed to slow as she tried to force her arms to work again to block the lethal projectile, but it was too late. She had almost come to accept her fate when a sudden glint of metal hit the offending bolt, and the energy disappeared in the air, causing no harm.

"Sister… are you alright?" Motoko asked, stepping protectively in front of the fallen Aoyama. Her sword was raised and ready, as her eyes steadily looked towards the goddess approaching.

There was no time to reply as the celestial just attacked her new target. Multiple bursts of energy, Motoko blocked them with cool efficiency as Tsuruko had done earlier, though if one looked closely, there was a slight waste of movement, which was exploited as more and more projectiles were launched towards the young Aoyama. Soon, like her older sister, was forced back at the sheer tenacity of the goddess' attack that Motoko's ki finally wavered, and her sword couldn't take the pressure anymore, and finally broke from the earlier crack it had.

"Motoko! Use this!" Tsuruko shouted as she threw her nodachi in the air. Motoko nodded, grabbed it, and blocked the attacks without taking a pause.

Now reinforced with a superior weapon, Motoko could now use her remaining ki to use her energy attacks to its fullest. Launching her own energy forward, she was able to cancel out some of the projectiles with one slash.

"Hmph… still a bit crude with ki usage," Tsuruko commented slightly as she watched her sister dash forward to her enemy.

"I am surprised that you allowed someone else to use your sword…"

There was no need to turn, as Tsuruko knew that Keitaro was beside her. She smiled slightly as she tried to stand.

"Urashima-san… if there is one person who I'll trust my soul to, it would be my dear sister," Tsuruko stated. She looked at him. "You should have run with her. I gave you time to get out of this place."

"Yes, well, your sister wouldn't react too well if I just upped and leave, you know," Keitaro replied back. "Besides… even if we did, I'd never have seen such a revelation; you, on your knees, helpless."

"There is no shame in defeat as long as the spirit remains intact," Tsuruko countered. "Even if I had died… I'd be happy knowing I protected our future."

"Yes, well, the future you speak of doesn't want you to get off the train just yet," Keitaro growled slightly as he positioned himself under her arms, and helped her stand. He motioned the fight there, where Motoko and Miyabi were now fighting in melee. "While they are fighting, let's get out of here before she spots us."

Keitaro and Tsuruko hurried to a isolated place where Tsuruko could hide and recover. As they walked, Tsuruko seemed to stare at Keitaro intensely that for a moment, he felt a bit self-conscious of his actions.

"Hey, Aoyama-san," he muttered in a forced cold tone, "I am helping you only because your sister asked me too. If it was just me, I'd have stuck this," and he shook the hand that still held the black blade, "in you."

Tsuruko seemed to giggle. "Do not fret, Urashima-san… I know you are warming up to me."

"I hope that was a joke," Keitaro muttered dead-pan.

"Actually it was," Tsuruko nodded. "I was actually realizing how everything suddenly fit. You're not from this world, are you?"

Keitaro looked at her. "What makes you say that?" he asked.

"Discrepancy of your skills… the awakening of the Cursed Urashima Blade…" Tsuruko smiled slightly. "For one wild moment, I had thought that in you was the potential to re-awaken the Urashima Family heritage, and what better to strengthen the Aoyama line by placing that potential here. But… when that goddess came in and called you by your code-name, I knew you weren't of this world.

"K2… a double digit agent. If my history serves me right, the Urashima's used to have the double digit codes for those who specialize in assassination…" Tsuruko smiled. "When I remembered that, I knew everything suddenly fit. Your skills, your fighting techniques… you are an agent from another world, a world where the Urashima's have not fallen out of their lineage, and like us, a department for supernatural affairs."

Keitaro looked at her for a moment. He smiled slightly. "How sure are you that the Urashima family isn't just hiding until the right moment to reveal themselves?"

"Because they aren't stupid enough to send their only heir and their blade to us," Tsuruko replied back. She smiled at him. "Do you want to get to another debate, Urashima-san?"

"No, its fine," Keitaro replied. "You are a dangerous woman, Aoyama. It's a wonder you got married."

"Check on our history, Urashima-san, and you'll know how a dangerous woman like me snagged an unlucky fellow," Tsuruko smiled. "I can still call you that, right? I do not know your real name."

"Urashima Keitaro is my name, so you can continue calling me that," he stated.

They finally arrived at an adequate place. Keitaro noted that it was isolated enough for Tsuruko to stay for a while. When she would recover, she could move on her own.

"Urashima-san… how do you feel about my sister?" Tsuruko suddenly asked unexpectedly.

Surprised by the question, Keitaro looked towards the older Aoyama with suspicion. "Why?" he asked.

"I know I haven't treated you as well as I should have, but I have a favor to ask," she stated with seriousness. "Help my sister. Keep her safe."

Keitaro nodded, though there was a smile threatening to appear on his lips. He just nodded seriously, as he ran back to Motoko. There was no real need to ask that… Tsuruko, the silly woman. He would give his life for Motoko if needed.

* * *

The goddess screamed as she gave a vicious downward slash towards Motoko, who used her two arms, elbows and knees to support herself as she blocked the powerful blow, deflected it and slid her blade across the other, and countered with her own slash towards the goddess, who with her bare hands, blocked the blade.

Kicking forward, Motoko was able to free the blade from her enemy's clutches, and using her ki she launched another attack towards her enemy who just seemed to take the attack it, and shrugging it off as if she hadn't felt it. Switching back to melee, Motoko swung her sister's sword through a dance, never overextending herself, but no matter how many good hits she got in, the goddess just seemed to stop her on the tracks with a reckless stab.

"You dare stop me… YOU FILTHY HUMAN!!!" Miyabi screamed. "Hiding him… your with him too, aren't you? You also killed her didn't YOU!? My precious little heaven… YOU WANTED HER DEAD!"

Motoko expertly twirled the nodachi around her body, blocking another reckless attack towards her, and countered immediately by using the force brought forth through the circular motion. The goddess nimbly ducked, and continued on the attack in frenzy. Each of her hits kept getting stronger and stronger.

Fortunately, before she could give ground, she saw a flash of black. Keitaro appeared and blocked one of the goddess' seemingly berserk movements.

"You're late!" Motoko said.

"Better late than never, I say!" Keitaro blocked a slash coming towards his right ribs.

"K2!!" Miyabi shouted with a rather sickening grin. "You're here! YOU ARE HERE!"

Keitaro growled as her attacks suddenly focused on him, and with all the strength he could muster, began to block the powerful slashes… but Motoko never left him alone. The two supported each other's defense and attacked as they could, but the raging celestial didn't seem to budge to any of the hits she was receiving. She just kept laughing madly as she charged in, and slashed wildly.

"She's… mad!" Keitaro gritted his teeth as he took a step back.

_She's in a Berserker state now. I suggest a retreat. _

Berserker… Keitaro remembered this goddess' angel overstayed because the demon she was hunting turned to a berserker. Laharl called Berserkers unstable. Retreat was probably the best option they had. He relayed his thoughts to Motoko who nodded.

"I'll block and delay her as long as I can… you go ahead!" Motoko stated. Keitaro shook his head.

"No!" he muttered slightly loudly as he blocked an incoming attack. "I'm not leaving you to fend for yourself! She's after me! I'll run one way, and when she gives chase, run towards the other direction! I will follow after I lose her!"

Protests were drowned when Keitaro suddenly employed his plan without Motoko's confirmation. He suddenly dashed away from the goddess, and true to his assumptions, Miyabi's eyes focused on his retreating form. Leaving Motoko alone, the goddess laughed as she launched projectiles to him.

Thanks to his sword, he dodged the projectiles as if he had eyes at the back of his head… but Miyabi didn't stop. Soon, she was sending swarms of projectiles that exploded around him. Some were too close for comfort that he had to swipe them away in mid-air.

"WHY DO YOU RUN!?" Miyabi shouted right behind him. "ARE YOU AFRAID TO FACE JUSTICE K2!?"

_Burst attack right behind you… go to your right now!_

"Wha…" Keitaro automatically jumped to his right, but whatever attack it was seemed more powerful than he realized. Everything exploded around him, rattling his core, and the flash of the attack was so bright, for a moment, he didn't know where he was. His ears rang, temporarily deafened by the powerful explosion in close proximity and he blindly crawled forward.

Someone suddenly grabbed him, and he automatically thrashed his arms… but whoever held him wasn't hostile as he felt the warm hands patting him, trying to placate him. When his eyes began to recover, he saw raven black hair, and slowly, the features of Motoko as she was helping him up.

"I told you to run!" he wanted to say, but he was too out of it to say it. Her lips moved, but he couldn't hear her. His ears are still recovering.

_She says we need to hurry…_

His sword communicated straight to his head, so he wasn't a bit surprised when she spoke. He could only agree, and tried to speed up his movement and tried not to slow them down. But before they could even gain ground, multiple bursts of lightning came at them. Motoko covered Keitaro with her own body, and using one sword, tried to deflect the incoming fire.

However, with one of her arms supporting Keitaro, she couldn't move her arm or body much. She was getting hit by the stray projectiles, but she stood still, trying to take out every bolt of lighting coming at them. It was futile effort, as moments later a straight shot right through her shoulder made her drop her sister's nodachi, and another bolt was flying at her as she stood there defenseless.

Keitaro couldn't take it anymore. With all his strength left, he forced Motoko away by ramming himself to her side. Taken by surprise, the young Aoyama watched, falling, as the bolt meant for her hit Keitaro. His arm was crossed to his chest, blocking the projectile with his arm, and exploded, sending him off flying.

He growled in pain as his arm felt like it was hit by a sledgehammer and on fire. He tried to stand, looking at his damaged arm. It was still whole. At the corner of his eye, he spotted Miyabi flying above, looking down at him. Her hands were raised, calling forth another tremendous amount of mana.

_Move! She is about to use another burst attack! _

Keitaro growled. He forced his legs straight, and staggered as he moved sluggishly. Everything was coming too fast for him to even think. At the very moments of his looming death, Keitaro's thoughts were blank and clean. Everything seemed to slow as he looked back, and watched as the goddess launched her victorious stroke of attack. A huge ball of lightning, huger than what she had sent before was coming straight at him, slicing through the air like a hot knife through butter… but he didn't stop. He just ran.

Keitaro never noticed everything change around him. When he finally opened his eyes did he realize he closed them in the first place. He was on the ground, heavy. Was he dead? The feeling of his pained arm made him can that thought. He struggled slightly, twisting his body for a moment, and was surprised to see Motoko's arm laid atop of him. She must have tackled him to avoid the explosive attack.

"Motoko, get up, lets go…" he muttered, feeling stronger as he grabbed her wrist, and tried to stand. She didn't respond. He grabbed her wrist slightly harder than earlier. "Come on, Motoko! We have to…"

He stopped as he felt nothing. Keitaro's eyes widened. No… it couldn't be, he thought. He stilled his thoughts, and tried to feel anything from the wrist he was holding. There was no pulse.

Everything suddenly cleared as Keitaro spotted a large burn mark at Motoko's naked back. Her hakama was burned, exposing her immaculate back, now blotched with the color of brick red and black. The smell of her charred skin sickened him as he held her face, spared from the apparent destruction caused by Miyabi's last attack.

"No, no, no, no!" Keitaro muttered as he turned her over. He put his hands on her chest, pushed down a few times and touched her lips with his, breathing out. "Don't do this to me!" he muttered even more loudly as he continued to pump her chest. He had to get her heart moving… he had to fill her lungs with oxygen. He had to…

Keitaro touched her lips once again, and blew desperately. He wanted her to breathe… he wanted any sign to show she hadn't left yet… but the longer he tried, the more apparent it was an inescapable truth. The young supernatural agent finally stopped as all hope had abandoned, as his whole world seemed to end.

He gave her one last kiss… and his eyes threatened to spill, something he hadn't felt for a long time. His arms now carried her gently, making her sit up. His face contorted with a mixture of anger, despair, and loss. He cried freely as he felt her cold body, never again to be warm.

She was dead. Aoyama Motoko was dead.

**To Be Continued**

* * *

_Everything finally comes to a circle. The truth of everything finally appears. Keitaro unleashes his potential as his past resurfaces. _

_**A View to a Truth – Again**_

_Next._

* * *

Author's Notes:

Well, that came awfully fast… but for a reason, I guess. Two more chapters, and A View to a Truth finally comes to an end. Preparations for the next story arc have been done, except for a title. 

As for one of the reviewers… you actually can grab an enemy with two swords. It's by using your two arms for leverage… though my Arnis teacher showed that with enough grip strength, you can use your fingers to take down your opponent while holding two kali sticks… though not really recommended cause it'll leave you open. 

* * *


	19. Chapter 19

* * *

**19**–_A View to a Truth – Again_

* * *

In Heaven, Laharl had caught up with everyone rushing around. The alarms were blazing, and everything was on full alert. The situation was bad, going worse… so far that he was temporarily questioned on his visit by a few guards, even though he had a letter from the Seraph, stating to give him almost full unrestricted access.

Things weren't even getting better when he came to his destination, and the Seraph was looking awfully worried.

"What's going on?" he asked his friend.

The Seraph looked at the hybrid with a small frown. He showed the big computer screen, showing the threads of the Multiverse. Laharl looked at it, and blinked slightly when he got to the part where the linings were turning red.

"That red line represents the pathway where Miyabi had taken, and most probably where your friend is located," the Seraph muttered.

"Alright… so..."

"That same world is slowly vanishing from our data."

Laharl blinked. He looked at the Seraph with slight surprise.

"Wha… what?"

"The Universe is breaking apart," the Seraph continued. "That world somehow lost one of its Pillars." He nodded when Laharl's face responded in seriousness. "Yes… I do not know what happened, but now it's more than a simple rescue/extraction. I am sorry my friend, but I cannot allow you to go to that world alone. Heaven cannot leave this to you, I'm afraid."

"That is fine, as long as you pair me with someone that finds me agreeable," Laharl stated.

"Great!" Seraph motioned his hands, and called towards Nitasha who approached immediately. Laharl looked at his friend oddly, who shrugged. "She volunteered. Don't worry, don't worry… she knows what to do."

Laharl just nodded. Well, Nitasha didn't seem to have much problem with his 'nature' and seemed okay to work with…

"Got it. When do we leave then?" he asked.

"Now would be a good time."

* * *

Gray... swirling colors of a darkened world; Keitaro looked around in the desolate place, his eyes slightly wavering. Motoko... Aoyama Motoko was dead. 

It hit him like a ton of bricks. Hadn't he promised to himself that he would protect her? What came about? She protected him instead. She took a bullet for him. The image of her bloodied burned back, the sick smell of her burning skin... the image of her last pose as the life had left her was one of the most painful things he could remember.

"I... am useless."

His words vibrated around the mysterious place. He found himself, once again, in the deepest depths of mystery. He looked up, down, and around him. The place looked the same everywhere.

Suddenly, a light shone in front of him. Blinded slight, he raised his arm to cover his eyes from the glare as it slowly seemed to build up, and then dispersed as a female figure stood in front of him.

It was her. The blue-haired woman. But instead of mystery, Keitaro found himself looking at one of the very fabrics of his deepest memories. His mouth, slightly opened, gasped as she looked at him, and smiled... sadly.

"Mi-chan..." he muttered.

Tenki Miyuki. Last time he ever remembered her was when he threw those white roses down the bridge. The image of her young drowned body overlapped Motoko's burned back. How odd for him to remember her in an older body. How odd that he could now remember and recognize her even after her many appearances in his dreams.

"Kei-kun... my dear Kei-kun," she whispered softly. "The day you'll remember me... is the day of my impending destiny. Of my impending doom."

Her words rang through his head. He remembered... a far away memory... of the same words spoken to him in a dream.

"I am nothing more than a message, Kei-kun. The process has been complete. The assimilation has been finished... and I am very sorry it was not done earlier," she stated.

"What do you mean?" Keitaro asked, his hand moving forward. "Mi-chan... what do you...?" and he gasped as his hands passed through her body. He felt nothing.

"It's useless..." said a voice behind him.

K2 looked behind him, and spotted another figure he hadn't seen for a couple of days. Keitaro, of this world. He was looking at him with a sad frown, shaking slightly with nervousness.

"What…?"

"I mean… she won't respond to you," Keitaro muttered. "She isn't alive… what you're seeing is something like a recording."

K2 came at him, his hands suddenly grabbing Keitaro by the collar, and shook him hard. He pinned him on the imaginary wall of this place, and demanded:

"What are you saying!? Talk sense! Where the hell have you been anyways?" K2 asked solidly with his temper rising, his teeth gritting.

"Miyuki-san… she's… gone."

"What?" K2 asked again. He didn't understand what was going on anymore.

"She'll explain…" Keitaro just muttered, pointing towards the girl behind K2. "All you have to do is face her… or else she won't say anything."

K2 looked towards Miyuki, who was steadily looking at him, floating behind him. He let go of Keitaro, who went on his knees, coughing slightly, and walked back towards the floating girl. She was looking steadily at K2, and it was not until he had approached her in a certain distance did her face animate once again.

"I'm sorry I have to give you this burden… All these years you have believed I had died when I drowned," Miyuki looked down slightly, "but that wasn't the total truth. In actuality, my spirit had resided inside you for many years, mingling with yours, slowly trying to merge. Your past dreams… it was my small desperate actions to try and see you once more before everything had come full circle.

"As the only surviving heir spiritualist of my clan, I was supposed to ensure the survival of my family, and your family was kind enough to arrange a marriage between me and you… you probably know this already, having studied under your faction," Miyuki smiled. "But… don't think for a moment I didn't like you. I have watched as you grew… the trials you faced… the missions you have gone through… and I only wished that I was with you. What kind of future would we have if I had lived?

"I am a coward for thinking such things… especially when I am about to face my death the second time," Miyuki's eyes began to shine, her tears spilling slightly. "But… if its any consolation, with this, I will finally be with you, completely and wholly. I just won't realize it. Your thoughts will be mine, my spirit will be yours. My powers… will be yours.

"But… the most heartening thought is that I will be yours. Forever. Nothing can ever separate us again. So… please… forgive my selfishness, and just know that. My Kei-kun, my dear Kei-kun… I had the best time of my life."

And she slowly lowered her head and gave K2 a small kiss on his lips before she suddenly began to slowly disintegrate to a thousand pieces… like a dandelion flower flowing off being hit by the wind. Slowly, but surely, her image was vanishing from his eyes.

Keitaro and K2 stood at the now empty place, the place now seemingly lost its vibrancy, its friendliness. From the warmth of the blue sky came the darkness and coldness of lifelessness. It was the place realized that their keeper had gone, and was anguishing to follow.

K2 looked towards Keitaro, who was looking at him nervously. He felt his hands as he touched his face, his lips. He chuckled slightly, though it was more for show than anything. He didn't feel any amusement, or any other emotion. He felt as blank as a piece of paper.

"She told me to tell you…" Keitaro suddenly spoke, making K2 look at him. "She told me that you'd probably be able to use her spiritual powers to help you against that goddess you were facing… and she was sorry that the process wasn't faster to…"

Keitaro looked down sadly. His face was torn as his own tears threatened to spill. He looked towards K2, and asked, "Is it true… is Motoko-chan…?"

K2 knew what Keitaro wanted to ask. He felt the cold creeping up his back. He looked down at the imaginary ground, and breathed slightly.

"Yeah," he replied with a rather smoothness to his voice. "She's dead."

"You… loved her didn't you?" Keitaro asked.

"Mi-chan? Or Motoko?"

Keitaro didn't know what to reply to that. K2 was glad that his companion didn't. He wouldn't know how to answer it. Love… it was not on his mind right now. The warmth of happiness that had permeated due to such emotion was not present. Something else was breaking through his blank reverie, and it wasn't something people would call positive.

He took a deep breathe. He flexed his fingers and arms and neck. He felt the fire inside him lighting up once more.

"I got some unfinished business," K2 muttered suddenly.

* * *

The laughter on the air was electrifying, sadistic, and hollow. Miyabi circled around the kneeling form of her victim. His head bowing towards his dead lover's corpse. She loved it. The feeling of taking an important life away from him. This was her revenge. 

"There isn't a tale more woe..." she declared as she came behind K2. "Than the story of Juliet… and her Romeo." She laughed. "How is it, Mr. K2? Do you appreciate my feelings now? How does it feel… having your heart ripped out so suddenly, like a flash! Like lightning!" She growled. "You are the cause of this… this is entirely your fault. You killed my little angel. I took away yours. But… don't fret. I am merciful. I'll send you to hell… with that bitch of yours!"

She raised her sword, pointing down at his back. She felt her heartbeat rise as the moment of truth dawned upon her. This was it. She was finally going to fulfill her revenge. She was going to kill him!

Bringing down forth her weapon, suddenly, a strong energy resonated from Keitaro, whose whole body suddenly glowed in an icy blue color, and a small explosion took place, surprising the mad goddess, suddenly driven away by the burst. She screamed, blinded momentarily by the blue light, and jumped away, feeling the air around her move, and a sharp movement cutting her slightly.

When everything settled, she shook her head, and her eyes widened as she saw him, facing her. His cold eyes turned blue as he looked at her, his wardrobe now supporting some kind of black armor, covering his arms, legs, and a small part of his chest. His two hands are now holding some sort of broadsword, though the handle was unmistakably designed like a gun.

Keitaro could feel his new-found power mingling around him, taking away his fatigue from his overworked muscles. He could feel his injuries now healing, and he could feel the power of his new weapon right in front of him. The spirit of the sword, who was still in the form of his Mi-chan, was whispering in his head.

_As you unlocked your energy, I have changed to my second form. This GunBlade is the weapon that will allow you to overcome your weakness in strength. Use me well. Make your enemies feel your wrath. _

Keitaro didn't need to nod, and charged immediately towards Miyabi, his arms readied as his weapon was raised. He traveled fast, crossing the difference between him and his target in just a few seconds, and the goddess was still shocked at his apparent change of weapon that she couldn't completely dodge his attack, and raised her arm and weapon to block his slash.

_Pull the trigger, and let your fury show the folly of facing me head-on._

Keitaro did that just as he was about to make contact with her blade, and he could see the effect almost immediately. His blade seemed to explode with an excruciating downward force that he almost lost control of his weapon, but its effects were devastating. The goddess' blade broke like glass on impact, and it was a good thing she was fast enough to realize it, and jumped back, lest she herself got herself cut in half by the attack… but the attack did damage her.

Miyabi felt the blade cut her skin, on her forehead. She could feel her blood flowing from the wound before she forced it to close with magic. She growled, as her hand glowed, and another sword came forth from the air.

"YOU! What is it with you!?" she shouted as she, this time around, charged in with the attack. "WHY WON'T YOU JUST STAY DOWN?!"

Keitaro raised his arm, his weapon resting horizontally on his supporting arm, ready to block at any moment's notice… but was immediately surprised when her attack hit him at such an impact, almost sending his arm down painfully to the ground. He kept his knees rigged, and tried to redirect the flow of energy, the direction of her attack off him by bending his supporting arm downwards.

_Do not use me as your main defense… deflecting projectiles and parrying is fine, but taking attacks puts you at most disadvantage._

Keitaro cursed silently, and growled a mental complaint on why she didn't even warn him beforehand, but realized that he should have known. Such a large, powerful weapon is cumbersome to use defensively… its designed to attack with maximum damage.

_**So how do I defend then? **_

_While your new armor can protect you from most glancing attacks and can survive some blows, I suggest you just dodge. This form comes a price, I'm afraid. _

Yes, he noticed that. Keitaro ducked as another blow came near his neck, and he rolled away, positioning his blade again across his chest. The goddess didn't stop, and continued to charge at him, but now, Keitaro, put in mind what he would do.

He dodged, left, right, ducked, and jumped slightly over low attacks, picking his spots, waiting for the right moment to counter-attack. After three seconds, he saw five openings that he attacked without pause, forcing the goddess once again to go back in defensive, ending with another heavy blow towards her side, again shattering her weapon and deeply gashing her waist.

She growled, her wound again closing up. Keitaro, not wasting any time, charged in with the intent to finish her off where she stood, but the goddess quickly jumped up in the air, and floated behind him.

Keitaro cursed, and turned to face her, and his eyes widened as he saw a bolt of lightning come at him. He jumped to his left and the magical projectile scratched his chest armor. He could feel the slight tinge of electrical energy around him as it passed, but it didn't faze him one bit. His eyes were still on Miyabi, who was now sending more projectiles on his way.

Deftly using his large blade weapon, he was able to dodge almost all the barrages sent to him. Those straying close at home, he deflected with a simple swipe. He tried to gain more ground by charging in again, jumping towards her, but she just flew higher, past him again, and launched more magical bolts.

Keitaro cursed again.

_**She's putting me on defensive… I can't get to her! **_

_Smart. No matter how much power you gained, you're using almost all your spiritual strength not only to keep this form, but also reinforce your physical body to act close to its optimized potential without causing significant strain, and she is doing nothing but call forth almost insignificant amount of mana to storm you with multiple bolts. She'll outlast you at this rate. _

_**Any bright ideas then? **_

_There is more to this form than brute strength. _

Miyabi growled as she sent a volley of bolts to his direction again… the amount of energy he was just emitting was too powerful for her to take head on… but he must have a limit. He is wasting it by going on defensive… he was going to tire.

A small whistling sound came as Miyabi found herself surprised when she saw the large blade suddenly spinning towards her, deflecting her bolts away. The stupid agent man seemed to have just thrown his weapon out of desperation. She laughed.

Jumping up, she hovered a few meters from the ground and dodged the spinning blade coming towards her. She materialized her sword once again in her hand, and was about to charge in towards Keitaro, when suddenly, a burst of blue energy emanated from his lone form. Her eyes widened as she forced herself to the left.

Miyabi barely dodged the rather large ball of chilling energy. The front of her robe disappeared as the ball grazed her front, and it continued its way to the sky, disappearing in the atmosphere.

Keitaro looked pleased and slightly surprised when he saw the energy ball shot out from the gun he was holding. Heh… GunBlade was right. The weapon had the ability to detach, separating the "gun" and "blade" part forming a weapon he was more familiar in using. He took aim again, and pulled the trigger and buckled down as the force of the projectile pushed him back slightly.

Miyabi flipped towards the left, and then to the right, now put on defensive as Keitaro kept shooting at her. The goddess growled and sent her own bolts as a means to counter attack, but her small multiple bolts were taken out, almost pathetically, by a single blast. Whatever he was firing at her wasn't something she could counter with such low level spells.

Deciding to risk it, Miyabi took hold of her sword, and dashed towards Keitaro, weaving through his following blasts, almost hit twice during her charge. She smiled… he was standing where he was… stupid! He was just desperately shooting at her. Sooner or later, she would get into attack range, and aimed to kill, planned to stab him in the chest.

Her grin became plastered as she came closer and closer to him… just a few meters. He didn't move, still staying on his ground. Miyabi laughed as she readied her arms and sword. He was going to die!

Then, a glint of metal, reflecting light, shone through her peripheral vision. The blade that the man threw… it was coming back to her!

Too late to dodge! Miyabi raised her sword, blocking the blade from slicing her… but the power of the slash was so strong she lost balance in her flight. Everything slowed down… she saw him smiling as he aimed towards her face.

Keitaro felt a grim sense of satisfaction as he felt the whole place explode in a dazzling light of blue, then red, and orange. Her face of surprise was still in his head. Bet the bitch didn't expect that, he thought darkly. She thought that the blade he threw on her way wasn't controllable in any way… she was wrong.

It was basic combat tactic… he knew that the goddess would charge at him with a sword as it was the only mean of getting to him. She underestimated him for the last time… she didn't know he predicted her charge, and when the time was right, recalled the sword to take her out of momentum, distract her, allowing him to shoot at her with impunity.

_Your plan seemed to have work._

Keitaro looked at the sword-girl beside him as the blade spun towards his side. He extended his arm, and the blade automatically locked itself on the gun, reforming his weapon. He nodded slightly.

It was over.

_Don't celebrate prematurely. _

Keitaro narrowed his eyes. He looked carefully towards the clearing smoke, and gasped slightly as he saw Miyabi, breathing hard, looking at him.

She looked at him with rage, her left arm was gone, leaving behind a bloody stump. Her clothes were ripped, her front still bare. Her forehead was cut and bleeding profusely.

Keitaro frowned, and readied his weapon again. It was impressive that she was still standing, but even in her beaten and bloodied form, he was not in the mood to forgive her.

Her hand dropped the sword she was carrying, and shivered as she tried to raise it up. Keitaro bent his knees, wondering what she was up to... if she was hoping to catch him unawares, she was sorely mistaken.

She spread her fingers. His eyes dove towards the slight glint of gold as she spotted a ring in her pinky. She shoved that finger in her mouth, and bit down on it. She forced the finger out; taking out the ring in it. He could see the electrical energy seemingly escaping through her ring as she went through her motions.

Suddenly, she exploded in an electrical blue of light, emitting so much energy that Keitaro was forced back a few meters. The ground and even the air around the whole place began to crackle, like little lightning bolts were coming from every air molecules and hitting another, while at the center, Miyabi, the goddess, changed.

From her wounded, bare self, she now was supporting a shining blue-gold armor around her, covering her whole upper torso, ending with a short skirt that didn't go beyond her knees. Her legs were covered with armor as well, from feet to her knees. Her right arm was also armored and her bloodied stomp was now, miraculously, healed and renewed. She flexed her left arm, closing and opening her fist, showing Keitaro how her new limb was working in perfect order.

Keitaro froze.

_**What did I just witness? **_

_She seemed to have removed her limiter... she is now delving towards her total mana stores. Careful... we don't know how powerful she is right now. _

_**Eh... she just took some vitamins. How bad could it be? **_

When Miyabi somehow disappeared, and re-appeared in front of him in less than a second, he realized how bad it was. Her fist felt like a tow truck driving towards his stomach at a hundred kilometers per hour. He didn't know the distance he flew after one hit, and it didn't matter because she followed up with more attacks.

It was only due to his partner's warnings did he escape her punches by mere inches. She came at his critical areas... head, chest, and ribs... and even if he had escaped the fatal shots he was grazed, cut, and feeling nauseas. She still came at him, her attacks going faster and faster until finally, she overcame him.

Her knee went low, going towards his shin... and it hit, with a loud crack as the bones. He yelped, as he lost his balance and footing. Leaning on the side, her fist came towards his chest. Keitaro spat out blood that seemed to have built up earlier, feeling his rib cage rattle, cracking, breaking. He backed away as he felt his lungs crushed by the blow, and flew. He landed unceremoniously on the ground a few meters away, and bounced up and down repeatedly before settling finally on one of the gates of the Aoyama compound, his back hitting it hard enough that got him to spit blood again.

Keitaro didn't know where he was at the moment. Everything around him was spinning, and he was suffocating slightly, trying to take in oxygen. He closed his eyes as he could hear a voice ringing on his head, and a laughter... or cackle, to be more accurate. As time passed, the voice was getting clearer and clearer while the cackle came nearer and nearer.

_She's coming! Wake up! She's coming! _

He shook the cobwebs off, and opened his eyes. Everything was out of focus, and he squinted, trying to fix it. Slowly, he could make out the goddess walking, almost sashaying in front of him.

_**Gun!**_

The blade automatically detached itself from the hilt, and left him with his secondary weapon. He took aim, and shot towards Miyabi, but all his shots were deflected away by her hand, glowing slightly with energy. He still continued to shoot uselessly as she approached, and it was during this time did Keitaro, for an odd moment, realized how terribly redundant things have turned out for him.

Here he was, cornered once again to a wall, having just a few minutes ago, winning the whole thing... just exactly how he felt minutes ago, fighting the older Aoyama. Winning, and somehow, someway, they pull something out of thin air, and fighting them suddenly becomes really unfair.

He gritted his teeth. He was feeling tired now after each shot... he didn't need to hear his sword-girl partner telling him his spiritual energy was now fading. He weighed his options again... and he could not see a way out. He was crippled, shin broken, bones crushed probably, and his whole body was already in teetering pain... but he didn't stop.

He just kept shooting and shooting, and maybe... maybe...

And it stopped shooting. Keitaro growled as he spotted Miyabi staying a few paces away, looking at him. She cackled again, and from her hands, a large energy bolt was brought forth. Keitaro looked back towards his partner, who looked steely ahead of him, unflinching considering the circumstances. His last thought was wondering if he should ask her name, or just thank her for everything until now...

The energy ball blasted fast at him. The last thing he saw before the whole world exploded was crimson.

The cold breeze blew on his cheeks. Keitaro, his eyes closed, felt at peace of the moment. He guessed that death was instantaneous, painless... oh wait...

He shouted as he felt his leg being stepped on, and a rushed, apologetic female voice came afterwards.

"Oh sorry! Sorry!"

"Damn it, Nitasha, careful with him! He looks worse for wear already!"

The male voice that replied was recognizable. Keitaro hesitated for a moment, and then opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a pair of blue eyes looking at him. He blinked.

"Hey, hybrid, he looks okay..." she muttered, looking towards a figure behind her. It was Laharl.

"Laharl..." Keitaro called.

"Yeah, good to see you too," he muttered a reply.

Around them, the smoke and dust were slowly settling as a crimson wall seemed to have made its way in front of them. Keitaro guessed that wall had shielded them and blocked the blast.

"I'm Nitasha! Good to meet you at last!" the woman in front of Keitaro muttered, grabbing his hand and shaking it. "We were supposed to be on a mission together but..."

"Damn it, goddess, this isn't the time for pleasantries!" Laharl muttered as the crimson wall slowly seemed to fade, breaking to many pieces of what looked like scalpels. "Don't you have a job to do?"

"Well... just trying to improve relations since-"

"Improve relations later! This world is falling to pieces as you waste time!" Laharl declared, the crimson scalpels going to his hands, and disappearing.

"Spoil sport..." she muttered before she flew away, leaving Keitaro and Laharl alone.

Keitaro watched dumbly as he watched Laharl get to his knees, and took a look at him.

"Wow... you look like hell," he muttered. "Broken leg, bruised face and chest, probably a few broken ribs..."

"Internal injuries... overworked muscle... all in the days work..." Keitaro smiled slightly.

"I don't think it's a time for jokes... this is the worst I've seen you," Laharl muttered worriedly. Then, his eyes wandered towards the weapon that Keitaro was still holding, and his eyebrows raised with surprise. "Is that...?"

"Hina Blade?" Keitaro nodded.

"So... you saw her?" Laharl asked. He was talking about Mi-chan, no doubt. Keitaro reminded himself to ask the hybrid about it later, and just nodded his reply.

"**YOU!"**

Keitaro looked as the smoke cleared, and Miyabi was looking at them with an eerie expression. Laharl turned, and focused on the goddess, and stood up, faced her. His hand scratched the back of his ear. He took a deep breathe and walked forward.

"Miyabi... stop this," Laharl called. She, in turn, replied with a shot of a lightning bolt. Laharl raised his right arm, and the bolt his open palm, and got deflected out of the way. "Do you know what you're doing? Look at you... you're already at your Final Protocol... you're using your last remaining mana. If you continue..."

Two bolts were launched from her hands, and this time, Laharl moved slightly back as his right arm was hit, though again, deflected out of the way.

"**What is it with all of you!? Is the world really against me? Do I not deserve justice!? He was mine! He was mine! And everyone just INTERFERES!" **

Laharl was hit again, and strongly too. He fell back a few steps again.

"Damn it! Miyabi, stop it! You're going to die at this rate!"

"**I'll kill you all! Kill you all! KILL YOU ALL!" **

"NO! STOP!" Laharl raised his hand, and dashed towards Miyabi, who now had her arms raised, calling forth an enormous amounts of energy, forming it to one gigantic ball on her hands. She cackled, laughed, and her energy ball continued to grow larger and larger until... something odd happened.

Her image shattered like broken glass, her laughter ceased as her hands broke away. The energy ball she was building up faded with the breeze. Her color turned paler and paler... then transparent, like crystal. From her extended arms, she broke away, slowly disappearing like dandelions in the wind. Keitaro watched with slight fascination as he spotted Laharl stopping, somewhat stricken with horror.

Death of a goddess... it was such a sight to behold.

"Oh... Kami... what have I done...?"

Her voice was weak, her eyes losing the madness that had been there. In the instance of her death, it seemed her mind had finally come back to her. And for a moment... Keitaro felt sorry for her.

Laharl's arms were on his side, his fists tightly closed. He turned around, and Keitaro could see a frown on his face as he walked back towards him.

It was over. It was finally over.

* * *

"Did you feel sorry for her?" Keitaro asked as he tried to make his good leg work, and not drag Laharl down, who was carrying him from the shoulder. The hybrid nodded. 

"She was a rather tragic figure, laced with madness brought forth from having a part of her ripped apart in an instant," he replied. "Would have been better if she had died mad… she didn't. Last thing her mind, her soul, would remember before inevitability are the acts she had committed. That's hell."

Keitaro nodded, and kept to himself for a moment until a shadow flew from his side, and landed in front of them. It was the other goddess… if he remembered correctly her name was Nitasha. Probably the goddess he was supposed to work with on his last mission.

"Got the signal clear. In a few minutes, the Yggdrasil will restart this world starting from where the anomaly appeared, and then everything will fix itself from thereon," she stated.

Keitaro looked towards Laharl with an inquiring eyebrow. The hybrid just smiled.

"What she is saying is that the gods are at work, and now trying to fix the mess that happened here," he replied. "In a few minutes, we'll be back home, while this world will experience a… well, what's a good term… rewind. Anything you did when you came here would be forgotten. Any damage done here would be fixed. No harm done, in short."

Keitaro looked towards Laharl, and frowned. He took a moment to think what he should feel about it. There was something else he needed to do, and stated that simply to the hybrid, who stared at him for a moment, and nodded faintly.

Nitasha didn't say anything, but followed behind them, taking a slight interest in the black sheathed blade at Keitaro's back. The three figures walked towards the direction where Keitaro was pointing until they came to a small distance, away from a battle-weary ground, bare except for two women. One was kneeling down, letting her knees be the resting place of the other woman's head.

"Oh my God…" Laharl muttered as they stopped.

Tsuruko Aoyama, the one who was kneeling down, had her head down, stroking away the hair of her younger sister. Even from the distance, Laharl and Nitasha knew that the younger Aoyama was lifeless, unresponsive.

"Miyabi got to her… she protected me," Keitaro stated softly.

"So… she's the Pillar," the goddess whispered audibly.

"Pillar?" the agent asked.

"Pillars are important figures in a Universe," Laharl muttered softly. "Before we came here, Heaven was thrown in chaos when one of their Universes were suddenly breaking down, dying, collapsing. What was more worrying was the Universe who lost a Pillar was one of the same Worlds we thought she had entered in. You wouldn't believe how much trouble she gave us tracking her down."

Keitaro nodded slightly.

"Aren't you… well, going there?" Laharl asked.

"Does it matter?" Keitaro asked. "The whole world will rewind, as you said. Everything I did will be undone. I am assuming Motoko will be revived… right?" Laharl nodded. "Then… what's the point?"

"A peace of mind," the hybrid replied. "I mean… you stayed here. Might as well say goodbye."

"Motoko was using me to convince her sister to bring back her status as heir of the school," Keitaro said with coldness. "But… she didn't deserve death. I'm glad it's not permanent." He looked towards Laharl. "Let me down. My leg's killing me."

The hybrid nodded, and he slowly let Keitaro down, and when he was done, sat himself. The goddess behind them stood, and the three looked towards Tsuruko, who slowly carried her sister, and walked back towards the main house.

Laharl looked at his watch, and warned Keitaro that they were about to leave. The agent nodded, and looked at his side, where his invisible partner was looking at him with a small and sad smile.

_I guess this is goodbye._

_**You're not coming?**_

_I belong to this world… and even though I have chosen you as my champion, there are rules that even I can't ignore. Besides… its only temporary. I am sure in your world, there's a sword for you. And when you establish the contract, we will meet again. _

Keitaro looked at her for a moment, smiled slightly.

_**What if there isn't? **_

_There is… in your memories. You may not remember where you saw it, but one day… we'll be together once again. _

_**A marriage proposal… and you never even told me your name. **_

She laughed. First time he ever saw her laugh.

_Ask me when we meet again. _

Keitaro nodded slightly. That was a promise.

"Well… here we go. Three… two… one…"

**To Be Concluded…**

* * *

**Next:**

As everything finally ends, the weary rest their souls to fight for another day. As a small measure of comfort is held, the day begins anew. 

**Quantum of Solace**

* * *

_Author's Notes: _

_Nothing to say really… just enjoy the chapter. _

* * *


	20. Chapter 20

* * *

**20 – **_Quantum of Solace_

* * *

The hospital smelled the same, no matter which district it was. Laharl wondered for a moment if there is a sort of unwritten rule that all of them must use the same brands of cleaning materials: that rather annoying smell of disinfectant and the same staleness all throughout the building.

Whoever said cleanliness was next to godliness should have also stated when to draw the line.

Laharl knocked on the door of room 207, and entered. He was greeted by the odd sound of a keyboard being used, being typed away. He spotted Keitaro on his bed, with a laptop on his serving table. The agent acknowledged his existence with a wave of his hand, though his eyes never left the monitor.

It's been a three days since Keitaro's soul was safely transferred from that world back here. Keitaro was checked, by the doctors, and a Heavenly Agent to see if Laharl had brought back something he shouldn't had. The agent was cleared by both, though he needed some physical rehabilitation. The hybrid prepared his homecoming by giving updates to KU, who would relay the message to Shinobu, who in turn would say it to everyone during dinner.

Haruka was also preparing for his cover... three planned calls the day after he arrives to hinata-sou, each in a different time, and each with a different reply. It was going to further cement his existence as a family lawyer for the business.

The whole thing was a business trip. That's how it was going to be done as.

"What are you doing?" Laharl asked.

"My report on everything," Keitaro muttered. "Seems like G wants a full detailed report so she could report back to Heaven on what happened."

"Ah... Nitasha and I went through the same thing... though our version must be really shorter than yours," the hybrid muttered. "Explained to the guys up there what happened down there... death of a goddess isn't really a joke to them, and they are trying to find someone to blame."

"Bet they were rooting for me," Keitaro replied.

"Yeah, but they can't. You were already punished when you had killed the angel, and I was there to state that fact," Laharl looked up in the ceiling. "Miyabi had done what she had done on her own accord, never mind the state of mind. She also was responsible for almost recklessly destroying a Universe. She was her own perpetrator of her own demise."

"Good riddance," the agent muttered before going back to his laptop, and continued typing.

"Well, there's another thing you can celebrate about..." Laharl smiled. "The Soul Burn... its gone. That Heavenly Agent that checked you over said so. It seems that with Miyabi's death, the burn faded from your soul."

Keitaro just nodded. Laharl just paused for a while, looked at his friend. The two stayed silent for a moment, the hybrid wondering what else to say. The agent concentrated and continued to type away, until after a few minutes, he sighed, and with a last few movements with his cordless mouse, he relaxed back to his inclined bed and relaxed.

"Done?"

"Yeah," Keitaro replied. He looked towards his arms, and then his hands. "It's strange... I thought this body was in a coma for a week or so..."

"Yeah?"

"I woke up, and cursed when I realized that I had worked out hard after the last incident at Hinata-sou only to have to work even harder because my muscles lost mass, and just after three days of some physical therapy... I'm back to normal," Keitaro finished. "It's really odd."

"Heh..." Laharl scratched his chin. "It may surprise you, but I was slightly expecting it."

"What do you mean?"

"Your reiki is reacting to your body, molding it to how you remember it," the hybrid nodded. "You may not expect it, but you did change from your travels. You finally awakened your latent potential."

Keitaro looked at Laharl, who was now twiddling his fingers, occupying himself as he went silence once more. The agent scratched the side of his head slightly with his index finger, wondering how to bring up the subject he had wanted to ask since Laharl mentioned her.

Miyuki Tenki. When he was young, he liked her… loved her, most probably. She died when her moving van was hit by a demon on the bridge, and plunged into the river. The last time he saw her was in his arms, hugging her, touching her hair, telling her to wake up.

First time he saw her again, he was in her arms, touching his face and hair caressingly. She said this was her fondest memory… her last memory.

Before he had taken the codename K2, he studied up on her during his strenuous and intensive training under his sensei. There, he knew the details. Who she was… why she was at Hinata-sou. He found out about her family… Spiritualists who specialize in exorcism, slowly fading by the beliefs and culture of the modern times, were looking at one of the few families to branch to.

The U-Faction won, having their own young man as a direct bloodline heir, while the Aoyama's are still squabbling about their sexual integration. Miyuki Tenki and Keitaro Urashima met, the latter not knowing the reason of her visit, the former not knowing her ultimate fate. They just connected.

"Laharl…" Keitaro paused for a moment. He looked at the hybrid. "Did you know?"

Laharl looked at him for a moment, his lips frowning at one side, his eyes narrowing. He turned, and faced Keitaro completely, and nodded.

"Yeah," he muttered. "Remember the time I used the Demon Eyes on you?"

Keitaro nodded, remembering the test in Okinawa.

"That's when I first suspected something was up," the hybrid continued. "I saw a silhouette… there was something, or someone mingling at the background. Then came your incredible endurance in fighting off vampires and two neko-lycans to the point you were beaten to a bloody pulp, when I expected worse. Then there was our training… you learned slightly faster than I expected you to, and continue to improve ever since…" Laharl chuckled. "I first thought you were using Ki to augment yourself… but it wasn't. It was subtly different."

"It was reiki," Keitaro finished.

"Yeah… it was leaking around your body, helping you…" Laharl sighed. "After some research, I realized what was giving you such high amounts of raw reiki. Another soul was merging and mingling with yours. Who, with high spiritual energy, was close to you enough to transfer their soul to you… and then I realized one girl."

"Miyuki Tenki," Keitaro frowned. "She… she told me that the process was complete. On the other world, I mean. Laharl…" he paused. "What does it mean? What is going to happen now?"

The hybrid looked at him, smiling slightly. "Nothing. It means nothing except that you have to work harder if you want to be able to use your reiki to its potential."

Keitaro looked away for a moment, and took a deep breathe. To its potential, eh?

"Any advantages of having a strong reiki?" he asked.

"Well… truthfully, reiki is more or less like ki, with very subtle differences. One of the main advantages of reiki usage is that not a lot of people are actually able to read it," Laharl caressed his chin carefully. "Reiki is the energy, signature of one's soul, one's identity. Ki, on the other hand, is the energy created by the body. In theory, if one wants to develop ki, they have to mold their body and mind to manipulate it. For Reiki, one has to look inward, spiritually, and of course, there's the mental part as well. I actually don't know what's the real differences between the two… I'm no expert."

"Huu," Keitaro smirked slightly. "It seems like it's the first time I've seen you not having an answer for once."

Laharl smiled. "Hey, I did answer you… incompletely, it may be. Besides… its something I really can't understand. I mean… this is the most I can do with my reiki…"

He opened his palms, and Keitaro blinked when a small green ball seemed to appear from the hybrid's hands, and then exploded into a million pieces. The agent then was surprised when the whole room stopped smelling stale, and a multiple scents attacked him from all direction, and the feeling of solidness engulfed him. He closed his eyes. He could imagine a field filled with grass of different varieties, spurning flowers of different colors. Then appeared a tall oak tree standing with the warmth of the sun splashing him… it was Earth.

Then as quickly as it came, faded, and Keitaro opened his eyes and smelled the disinfectant creeping up again. His whole surroundings turned bare, white and clean. He shook his head.

"What was that?" Keitaro asked.

"Imposition of Identity," Laharl replied. "Or that's what she said it was. Reiki is, as I said earlier, your soul's signature. Dispersing just a few amounts can change the surroundings slightly to what your identity is. Mine's Earth, by the way."

"She?"

"My ex-teacher. She taught me on stuff like this… Ichihara Yuko, the Inter-Dimentional Witch" the hybrid replied.

Keitaro's eyes widened when he heard her name, and Laharl noticed it immediately. He stood up from his position, and approached Keitaro quickly.

"You saw her?" he asked.

"Yeah," Keitaro replied.

"In that world?"

Keitaro nodded. "I wished for something."

Laharl frowned.

"Don't worry… I paid the price," Keitaro assured, though he cracked a slight smile. "Remember me breaking my leg on that world?"

"Yeah… but what does that have to do with anything?" the hybrid asked.

"That was the price… long story short, I needed a small leg healing, and she told me the price for it was to break it again," Keitaro explained. "And it happened… though I never really realized that until after everything was over."

Laharl looked a bit soured, though his expression with his puffed cheeks looked funnier than serious, but nevertheless, his annoyance was shown when he spoke.

"I'd rather you not have anything to do with her," he muttered. "She's… she's something to be feared. Especially… when she doesn't like you."

Laharl shivered slightly, nervously scratching his cheek.

"Still…" he continued, and smiled. "I guess she must have been annoyed to be given such a simple wish eh?"

Keitaro nodded. "She said it wasn't really something she'd do." He laughed. "You know, Laharl... once I've thought about it, the whole thing wasn't so bad. I had a few... set-backs, and I may have tempted a few fires, but everything was…"

Keitaro then remembered Aoyama Motoko. Her tears, her sorrow… wiping Hinata-sou and cooking lunch in a French Maid uniform… her smile as her eyes narrowed, telling him to concentrate on his strokes and to fix his feet. Her dark laugh as she held the Hina sword, vibrating on his memory as it changed suddenly again to her angelic face, pale and unmoving, resting on the ground. Her eyelids closed, impassive to the world around her… and finally, her burnt back to complete the whole picture.

"… peachy." Keitaro sighed. "Everything turned out peachy."

He looked towards Laharl, who was looking at him with a serious face. The hybrid's lips quivered slightly, his eyes shifting away.

"Look… Keitaro… when you're done with the whole thing, the reports, I can make sure you won't have a recollection…"

The agent held his hand, and shook his head. No, Keitaro didn't want that. He never told Laharl the full story… he never told anyone. What happened in that world… his relationship with Aoyama Motoko and the short marriage they had was something he wanted to keep for himself. The hybrid may have suspected something, but he was kind enough not to ask, or even mention what he may know or deduce.

In reality, this was the first time that Laharl has ever shown that in fact, he knew something. His assistance was appreciated, but ultimately, not needed. Keitaro wouldn't want to forget what happened. No matter how painful those memories were, they were now a part of him. His battle with the older Aoyama, the truth of not only the multi-Universes, but also Mi-chan's appearance… the conversations they had, and finally the soul and power residing in him… how would he, in good mind, forget all that?

"Its fine, Laharl…" Keitaro stated honestly. "It's fine."

* * *

The two men were quiet as Laharl drove his car back towards Hinata-sou. At the baggage compartment, two suitcases filled with various of souvenirs that hopefully, the tenants would like. It was Keitaro's idea… he hoped that the souvenirs would help him quell most complaints that the tenants may have (one big sake bottle for Kitsune… that would calm her alright). He didn't know what to get some of them (for Naru, he just grabbed a few finger snacks), but it didn't matter anyway. He was home again.

Home… Keitaro looked slightly out of the window, his head relaxing on the headrest. He looked at Laharl who was tapping the steering wheel with the beat as the rock song on his radio played continuously. He didn't care much for the song, not because it was something he didn't like, but because he didn't know what to feel at the moment. He sighed.

He was beginning to think too much. His mind wandered on about the worlds... the multiple possibilities, the lives his other selves live. He had just witnessed, and experienced one of the strangest things in his life, and as of now, it was starting to bother him.

Would he have actually enjoyed living like how Keitaro of that other world lived? As un-cool as he thought it was, the life the other Keitaro lived was more comfortable. Worries of only passing an entrance test to Todai, worries of trying to get into a normal relationship with a normal woman... maybe at the end, work in an office or somewhere respectable, and with good pay, and hopefully, die a peaceful death with your family there to mourn.

"Would it have been better... I wonder..." he whispered, silently, and trailed off at the end.

"What would be better?" Laharl asked.

Keitaro looked at his hybrid friend for a moment, and shook his head. He was being stupid. Did it really matter what some life of some other person (even it was supposedly another him) was living some life and he had experienced part of it? Temptation of having a rather more peaceful and stable life was nothing more than wishful thinking on his part. He lived in a world where a wrong move could kill you... and as he experienced, his actions have more dire consequences than he could fathom.

"I wondered if it would have been better to get two large bottles of sake for Kitsune," Keitaro replied, smiling.

"Ah… well, you have been gone for a while, it may have been better," the hybrid nodded. "Though I don't think she'll complain about one bottle… especially considering how big it is."

They both laughed, though one was softer than the other's. His mind finally deciding on his course of action as Laharl's car passed through the bridge, a place full of memory for Keitaro. It was the landmark where Tenki Miyuki's truck had been struck, crashing out of the bridge and towards the river. Hinata-sou was visible from here, already, up in the hill, and just a few minutes later they'll be arriving at the base. A long stairwell flight, some awkward greeting, and Urashima Keitaro, family lawyer and manager of Hinata-sou will finally arrive after his trip.

Laharl helped him unload his stuff, but when it came to it, Keitaro wound up going alone towards the steps to Hinata-sou. The hybrid, unexpectedly, had something to do... the young agent just rolled his eyes, but didn't complain when the other man left. Now he had two arms of plastic bags loaded souvenirs.

Shinobu and Su were the first two to greet him. The former's face shone when he arrived, literally. Her lips parted and gave him a rather wide smile, and offered to help him with his load. Keitaro, greeting back, gave her the lighter one, though it was still rather heavy for her, was upbeat as she carried the bag with her two arms towards the living room area.

Su smiled, and greeted him normally, which he in turn, returned amicably. He waited for her to ask something about his adventure in another world, but all she asked was if he got her bananas.

Narusegawa Naru... he would never admit it, but her small contemptuous stare showing her annoyance at his return was something he had been looking forward to all day. Spending months in the other world, where Narusegawa was actually very friendly to him was something he could never really get over with... maybe he was being rather immature about it, but this was the first sign of normalcy which he wanted.

"And here, bananas," Keitaro declared, giving Su her favorite fruit. She gave a very kiddy yell of appreciation, grabbed the fruits and bound away on her 'threes' (her one arm was busy carrying her prize). He handed some stuffed toys to Shinobu, who readily accepted them (though looked tad disappointed). He promised himself to give her a better gift next time.

Naru reacted to his gift neutrally, accepting them without resentment, and even garnering her thanks (whispered). Keitaro guessed you really couldn't do wrong with food. Asking where the others were, Naru just shrugged, and left, leaving Shinobu to answer.

"Motoko-sempai is in the roof, practicing," the young girl paused for a moment, thinking how to say the last bit. "Kitsune-san... well, I think she's still in her room."

Nodding, Keitaro grabbed the bag with the last two items he was going to give away and climbed up the stairs towards the roof. The closer he got to his destination, the more he could hear the muffled grunt of Motoko, and the sound of the air moving fast. He then heard the wood tweak slightly, and he guessed she shifted her feet, either to turn or to correct her swing posture.

When he was about five steps away from the top, the grunts paused for a moment, and as he climbed, he could see the eyes of Aoyama Motoko staring at him from the side. Her wooden sword was steadily adjacent to her chest, her face slightly glistening with sweat. She held her position until Keitaro finally set foot on the roof, and slowly approached her.

"Welcome back," she greeted indifferently.

"Thanks," Keitaro replied with a slight whisper. "Too busy to greet me downstairs?"

Motoko scoffed slightly. "I was in the middle of practice. Are you looking for an apology, Manager-san?"

"Nope," Keitaro answered with a small smile. "Came here to give you this."

His hand went towards the bag he had been carrying. Moving the big sake bottle aside, he found a bound book. Motoko looked with curiosity as Keitaro reached the book to her, and she hesitated for a moment, wondering what it was…

It was a novel, a fiction story written just recently by a well-known and renowned author. Motoko's eyes widened with recognition, which Keitaro was quick to spot. He extended his arm, and waited for her to get the book, but looked down slightly. Then, she raised her head, and looked at his eyes defiantly.

"Another one of your jokes, Urashima? Like that friend of yours, who gave me that garbage at Christmas?" Motoko asked.

The image of the flying erotic manga of a certain naughty samurai came quickly to Keitaro's mind, and his lips quirked upwards with amusement. Motoko's eyes narrowed at that, her lips quivering with slight anger.

"No joke, Aoyama-san," Keitaro replied seriously, his smile still present. "If you're curious enough, check it for yourself."

Motoko grabbed the book, and muttered a slight 'thanks'. She gently placed the book at the wooden floorboards where she had been practicing, and looked back and see Keitaro looking at her. She frowned.

"Do you have anymore business with me Urashima?" she demanded.

"Nope, not at all," Keitaro replied, raising his hands peacefully. He quickly made an exit down the stairs, leaving the samurai girl on her own devices. He wasn't even down the stairs when he noticed a Kitsune looking up at him from the base of the steps. Her eyes were narrow, staring at him rather angrily.

Her finger curled, beckoning him. Obediently, he came to her call, and sped his way down, where he received one painful, tight, and wettest kiss he ever expected from her. She tore at his lips hungrily, pinned him to the wall without mercy, and growled as her fingers dug deep on his shirt.

"You come back... and you don't come to me first!?" she demanded as she finally broke her kiss with him.

"You know what they say… save the best for last," Keitaro winked at her, lifting his hand to show Kitsune the last gift he was carrying. She looked at the big bottle of sake, and she smirked.

"You think that will make me forgive you?" she asked.

"Well… if you have something in mind…"

Kitsune cut him off with another wet kiss, shorter than the first, and grabbed him by the shirt, and slowly dragged him towards her room. It seemed like a flash, and Keitaro found himself pushed towards the wall, his shirt being unbuttoned, while his own hands were working towards her shirt, the sake bottle on the corner of the room, soon to be opened.

But not too soon.

Her fire was almost unquenchable. He lost track of time as they spent the hours away in her futon, locked in a sensual embrace, salted by her sweat. It wasn't until she had finally had her fill that she went for the sake bottle, crawling towards it, naked.

Keitaro smiled at the view.

The sake was sweet, warm, and satisfying. Kitsune appreciated it as well, sighing after she swallowed her first sip. She moved closer towards him, the bottle in her hand, refilling his small dish, and then hers.

She then spoke once again.

"I saw you interacting with our resident samurai," Kitsune smiled slightly. "What's up with that?"

"Jealous are we?" Keitaro asked, earning him a small weak punch to the ribs.

"Well… slightly. The only girls you normally interact with are Shinobu and Su," Kitsune replied. "Most of the time you ignore Naru and Motoko. I'm not deaf you know… I knew you arrived the moment you walked into that door. You gave Naru the same treatment, but you went for Motoko up there… and looked like you wanted to spend time with her.

"I know, I was watching!" Kitsune declared, with her eyes narrowing at him. "Now… is this residential fox have to mark her territory again in case you start… moving?"

She contracted her fingers, mimicking a claw, and made mock scratches at his arm to prove her point. Keitaro watched her as she did her motions, and laughed with genuine amusement.

"Oh, claw's don't work on you, eh?" Kitsune's smile turned rather evil. "Maybe something else…"

Keitaro kissed her, surprising her slightly. She returned the kiss, and both shared a tender moment in each other's arms. He broke his kiss, and looked at her, smiling.

"The residential fox has no need to fear of her territory being invaded," he stated. "I have absolutely no interest in anyone here beside you." He paused slightly. "Maybe in another world, another time… maybe. But not here. Not now."

She frowned. "Another world, another time?"

"Yeah…" Keitaro looked away slightly. "Another world."

Kitsune growled, and suddenly pinned him down again in her futon. Keitaro's eyes widened as his grip on the dish was lost, and landed inaudibly on the futon.

"Hey…!"

"Quiet!" Kitsune growled. "Another world? Another time? It seems that this fox's territory is being threatened! She has to take drastic measures to mark what is hers!"

Her smile widened. Keitaro broke his own.

"Do your worse," he exclaimed.

She did. All the way until dinner. And he never complained.

**The End**

* * *

_Author's Notes_

_Finally… Finally… FINALLY! Yes… its done! Sorry for all the delays… but what can I say? Persona 3: FES, Arcana Hearts, and Mana Khemia kept me so busy. Quality games, I recommend to anyone with slight interest in fighting games and RPGs. _

_So, what is next? Who knows. I am thinking of updating my other fics like UNNC, or even Sin Eater. I have the next arc of K2 in my head, but don't expect it anytime soon. _

_Anyways, enjoy the end of AVT. Ja ne! _

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